Enchanted Lands Book 1: A Tangled Gathering
by BeConFuzzled Writer
Summary: With Corona hosting other kingdoms, Rapunzel is excited about what else lies in the world. But the meeting of kingdoms brings more than friends. Enemies can be found and with the arrival of unexpected guests, things won't turn out as expected. Will this spell trouble? Or is this the beginning of something more? Other crossovers included.
1. Preparations in Corona

**Hello there, BeConFuzzled Writer here. My first fanfic ever and I have just reworked the entire first chapter. I hope you give it a chance. I own nothing, nor do I intend to profit from this. Tangled is own by Disney. How to Train Your Dragon is owned by Dreamworks. That said, enjoy!**

It was a sunny day in Corona. People were happy and were setting up shop for the Grand Kingdom Meeting, an event that took place every one to two years. For tradition, the location would switch between the various countries. This year the hosting kingdom was none other than Corona. And everyone couldn't be more excited, except for a few people.

"I just can't wait for the Grand Kingdom Meeting!" Rapunzel exclaimed as she stopped her painting and searched for other colors, through the shelves of her room with her chameleon, Pascal, "It'll be wonderful to have a grand meeting with the other kingdoms. What do you think, Pascal?"

The chameleon shared a bit of enthusiasm but gave Rapunzel concerned eyes.

"Well, I mean, I met some of them at my coronation. And I know all the kingdoms don't get along, but still. It could be fun. Eugene, you agree with me, right?"

Trying to keep up with the princess, her husband Eugene, the former thief now prince, chased after her as she skipped around her room.

"Rapunzel, I'm as excited as you are. Well, maybe not AS excited as you, but I don't think The Grand Kingdom Meeting is all its cracked up to be. Man, I wish there was a better name."

Rapunzel stopped abruptly, not only because she found the color she was looking for in her creative mess, but to turn towards her husband, who walked over.

"Sorry, Eugene. It's just that I get to meet even more kingdoms. And the topic is magic. I'm just excited to meet others who have some... magical experience. Like my cousin Elsa."

"Yeah, that was some coronation. Who would've thought we could go ice skating in July."

"Or see a live talking snowman," Rapunzel giggled before a thought occurred, and she ran back to resume her painting, "You think Elsa and Anna will bring Olaf?"

Eugene was about to answer when one of the maids caught their attention. It was Cassandra, a personal handmaiden to the princess.

"Got those paints you needed," she said with a basket full of more containers of paint in hand. As she set them down beside Rapunzel, Cassandra looked to admire the painting. "You're putting everything into this one, huh Raps?"

"I've haven't stopped," the princess said with pride before a thought occurred. "It's going to look great at the Grand Kingdom Meeting.

You're excited too, right, Cass?"

Rapunzel gave an anxious face to Cassandra. "Raps, look. It's an important event and all. But every year, the King and Queen never seem excited."

"Plenty excited," snarked the handmaiden.

"Never seem excited, but the Grand-" Rapunzel stopped as she saw the smirks on Eugene and Cassandra. As she grinned sheepishly, she continued, " Sorry. Not only is this a big event for me, but according to mom and dad, this year's the kingdoms will be meeting to discuss magic. So this means other kingdoms had an encounter with other magical elements will be attending. Who knows what we'll see."

"Besides your cousin, you mean," replied Eugene, still staring at the painting.

"From what I heard," Rapunzel, still in a happy mood, despite the discussion, continued to speak, "An ambassador is coming whose bringing a man that has gone looking for rare and magical creatures. I wonder what he has seen."

"And in England, they made a kid king because he pulled a sword out of an anvil in a stone," Eugene remarked. Cassandra stared at the former thief, not believing a word. "I'm serious. They made a kid the King of England jut for pulling out a ."

"I know! Right! And he's coming too. And get this, there a kingdom that got rid of knights for a like ten years."

"I remember that place. Gabylonia. Stealing at that time was something. A lawmaker caught me and just asked if I had a permit to steal while an actual knight just sat across and glared at me."

"Not to mention that one of the visiting kingdoms is full of warriors. I heard they once had the queen turned into a bear," Cassandra said blandly, trying to see if Rapunzel had paid attention. Eugene looked at her, wondering if that event was real. Rapunzel stopped painting to look at her friends. Eugene gave his wife a face that said, 'that can't be good either way.' Walking over, the princess reassured her friend and husband with a hug, with Pascal with joined in too.

"You guys, things will work out fine. I mean, sure, a kingdom made up of strong warriors sounds terrifying, but look at the thugs Corona. They turned out to be more than that. How bad can they be?"

Eugene and Cassandra eyed each for a moment, not sharing Rapunzel's optimistic enthusiasm. As they pulled away from the hug, Rapunzel then got a look at their doubt. Also, the paint on their faces, which they also rubbed out. The princess reached to make another attempt before a guardsman opened the door.

"The king and queen wish to see you, your majesty." the guard said, closing the door as he left.

"We'll talk about this later," Rapunzel said as she walked to the door, "Don't worry. We've made it through probably worse."

"I think the worst was the evil stepmother that nearly killed me." Eugene tried to say to his wife. It was too late, though, as Rapunzel was out of earshot and ran to her parents. Cassandra stared at Eugene. "What? I don't like dying."

* * *

Horns blared in the royal throne room as they announced Rapunzel's entrance. Despite the loud horns, the princess thanked her announcers as they stood down. Ever since being reunited with her family, Rapunzel enjoyed every second she could. But she still needed to get used to some of the perks, like the horns.

"The announcer is really...into it today," Rapunzel said as she rubbed her ears.

King Fredric and Queen Arianna looked over to the entrance. They embraced Rapunzel with a hug, who returned the gesture. Separating, the Queen spoke.

"Well, everyone is excited about this event," Arianna said, "Some more than others, while some are nervous. With one stressed king."

Rapunzel looks at her father to see his concerned face and a nervous smile.

"Dad, is everything alright?"

Fredric sighed, placed his hand on head, as while he tried to find the right words. It isn't until he felt his wife and daughter had put their hands on his shoulders does he speak.

"Rapunzel, the Grand Kingdom Meeting is a way for every kingdom to come together in a show of peace."

"And there had been peace across the kingdoms, right?", Rapunzel questioned in partial confusion, "We're not at war. At least I don't recall hearing any declarations. There no war, right?"

The king could not honestly answer that question. Politics has always been a complicated game. All he could do was wave his arms around in his futile attempts. Seeing that she may not be getting an answer, Rapunzel turns to her mother.

"This is about the fact that magical kingdom with be joining us this time, right?" asked the princess, "That is what this is about? Mom?"

Now Queen Arianna looked concerned.

"Rapunzel, politics is complicated. No one ever truly gets along with another. The kingdoms created the meeting to bring peace, but that's never really happened. We're just worried that it may be a little intense for you. The only thing anyone has ever agreed on was that the Grand Kingdom Meeting isn't the best name."

"For centuries, we've managed to have a delicate balance with the kingdoms," the king spoke, having found the right words. "But with events like Elsa's coronation and the pulling of the sword in the stone, countries are at odds end. This year will be the first time magic will be brought up. "

Rapunzel listened along to her parent's advice. She understood what this meant, but for eighteen years, she had magical hair. For those years, she afraid of being hunted and had been told that people coveted power like hers. Because of that, Rapunzel had a different understanding of magic than her parents. The princess believed she could help make a difference.

"Mom. Dad. Just because magic exists doesn't mean we need to fear it," Rapunzel said with confidence, "It can be beautiful. I think I need to be at the meeting to help everyone understand that. Elsa has powers, and her kingdom loves her."

King Fredric didn't know what to say. He didn't share his daughter's perspective on magic. Ever since the kidnapping, the king had obtained a fear and dislike of the magical elements, due to the apparent desire that people had for them. Even after being reunited, he still feared what was in the world. It was only after months of bonding with his daughter, that distilled the fear.

When Rapunzel returned from Arendelle and heard of the events that transpired, the feelings of dread returned, now with the knowledge that magic may have a connection with the family. With the Grand Kingdom Meeting debate on magic, Elsa and Anna would surely join this year. King Fredric, not knowing how to deal with meeting his magical niece, especially since this is the first meeting, was not looking forward to the Grand Kingdom Meeting.

"Dad, I doubt the kingdoms will bring wizards and witches. And if you're worried about me-" Rapunzel said before she is interrupted.

"It's not just you. Some of the citizens are concerned too." King Fredric said with a stern voice. "And they should be. Most of the people don't know what happens in the discussions. And Highlanders are visiting for the first time. Now we could be at war with them if things go wrong. And this has put some of our concerned citizens at cause for alarm and-"

"Dad!" Rapunzel interrupted her father now, "Everyone will be fine. This kingdom is strong. We have helped turn around most of the criminals in Corona." Rapunzel sent the king a smile. "If anything happens, we'll be sure to handle it."

The queen looked to her daughter, eyes full of pride and joy. She was happy to see how Rapunzel was taking charge. But that did not clear the doubt in the king's mind, for the world was still full of dangers beyond the magical kind. King Fredric even feared what could come to this meeting.

"Rapunzel," said Arianna. "Take a look at Pascal."

She pointed to the chameleon, who had hidden in Rapunzel's hair when the conversation seemed to be getting tense. Of course, like a chameleon, he had changed colors and was distinguishable from his nervous and fearful shaking.

"See how frightened he is. Imagine that only ten times worse. That's is most likely how these meetings will go. I understand you want to take part in this important event. But you must know that not everyone will listen to you because you had magic."

Rapunzel understood her father. King Trevor of Equis could be a little much at times, plus he could be sneaky and devious when he wanted. So this meant the meeting was overbearing or like a battlefield at most. A little scared, this did not deter the princess. She could be stubborn that way, and she hadn't backed down from her decision.

Rapunzel took her color-changing friend and caressed him gently. She didn't mean to give Pascal a scare. Ever since being officially recognized as the Princess of Corona, Rapunzel looked forward to helping the people of Corona. Even though she still had a lot to learn about completing tasks her way. Her father asked her to wear shoes at times.

"Sorry," the princess spoke as she held Pascal in her hands. "I'm just excited. I want to make you two proud, and that's why I want to attend."

"We understand, and we are proud of you," Arianna said. She cupped Rapunzel in her hand as the two made eye contact. "But this is different."

"You remember King Trevor?" Fredric asked his daughter, who nodded back. "You know how he can generally be. At the meeting, he'll be far more, well, him. Do you understand?"

After a period of silence, the king and queen relented. As much as they wanted to protect her, Fredric even more, the two parents couldn't hold up long for their daughter. Arianna whispered that it might better if they support her, but she stayed close to them at all times.

With a sigh and, somewhat, heavy mind, Rapunzel was allowed to go to attend the debates and other events held during the Grand Kingdom Meeting. The princess jumped and hugged her parents tightly and thanked them. Before Rapunzel could leave, her mom halted her for a moment.

"By the way, I hear you have been working on a new painting. Right? Is it for the Grand Kingdom Meeting."

"You heard? Do you want to see it? It's going to be amazing," Rapunzel said with unbridled glee as she reached the door handle. "I have been working on this one for a while, and I think I got something this time. You have no idea how many time Cassandra went to get paint from the shop."

The king and queen chuckled since the paint shop sent a token of appreciation to the princess. She hasn't seen it, but the royal couple plan to surprise her with it later.

"I can't wait to see it," replied the king.

"I hope this is the one you'll show," remarked the queen.

The three walked out of the throne to see Rapunzel's project. They would talk later, hopefully with a better perspective. But they all agreed that this meeting would be different than others.

"I mean, what's beyond magic powers, glowing hair, and queen bears?" thought the princess.

* * *

Outside of Corona within the mountain range and forest, a young man in black scale armor looked over the horizon towards the kingdom.

"Toothless...bud...I don't think we're in the archipelago anymore," the man said.

**And we stop here. Next chapter, we get to introduce Hiccup. Please leave a review. Thank you, and I hope to see you next time. **


	2. A Hiccup in Entrance

**Hi! BeConFuzzled Writer here with the Second Chapter. I hope you enjoy it. Again I own nothing. Also note, I will be taking some liberties with some events from Tangled the Series. **

Hiccup Haddock was lost. Scratch that, he had no clue or idea where he even is at all. Before anything, he was home on Berk. Hiccup started the day with his chiefly duties. Such duties included listening to the troubles and problems on Berk. At times he mediated fights between fellow Vikings(which sometimes meant taking their weapons). Though sometimes, they just continued with their fists. With everything in order, Hiccup went to take notes of dragon hunter routes and then relocating wild dragons and redirecting migration patterns away. The redirection of a flock took longer than expected. As the task lengthened in time, a storm appeared out of nowhere and separated the riders and the migrating dragons.

The storm relented with rain and lightning as if Thor himself was particularly angry. The winds howled with such ferocity that no one could hear anything. The only thing the riders could do was dodge the lightning and frantically call out for each other.

Having flown through the storm and found clear skies, the chief and his dragon companion, Toothless, found themselves not only away from the others, but nothing could be recognized. The sea seemed different; they weren't sure how, and any bearing, markers, or islands they flew to did not look familiar. The flight turned from hours to days, as they tried to find their way back to Berk. They made a map of everywhere they have been, but without a proper idea of where they are, it could be pointless.

* * *

After days of travel, the two found an inhabited island. But when they saw non-Viking like structure, they flew down into cover before being spotted or worse captured.

"OK," Hiccup said, "Toothless wait here. I'll see where we are."

Toothless cooed, worried about Hiccup, who assured the dragon that everything would be fine.

Asking for directions proved to be complicated. When Hiccup entered the town, he caught the eyes of the villagers. Who could blame them? No new ships had come yet, but a stranger in strange clothes alarmed them. It wasn't long before Hiccup left the town. But not without company that followed him. Luckily, our young Viking chief noticed this and ran for it, surprising the villager just how fast a one-legged man could run. Calling Toothless with a howl, Hiccup would soon see his dragon running towards him. With perfect synchronized and rehearsed form, Hiccup would jump onto Toothless and fly off, the unwanted guest non the wiser.

The cycle would repeat itself from there, in various forms. The two would fly through the sky as they looked for civilization. They flew among the clouds to avoid detection. When they spotted a town, they would land in the forest, or anywhere no one lived. Hiccup would change into a simple tunic he luckily had on him, the dragon armor or leather armor he wore underneath was too eye-catching. Toothless would hide and rest, while Hiccup explored the town for information and supplies. Supplies were more accessible to obtain than any information, as some locals noticed the young chief was not from around here and wore a peculiar outfit, the peg leg didn't help either.

Some people would help Hiccup. They would take notice of his appearance but did not question it. Anytime suspicion was raised, Hiccup would do his best to end the conversation, doing his best to seem as trustful as possible. After the first town, the Viking would make sure he did not leave town with anyone following. From island to island, town to town, the two somehow managed flying to Corona, where they saw the city decorated.

"Well, this looks nice," Hiccup said to Toothless, who stared in wonder, "And it looks like that with whatever is going on, I should be able to get some decent information or map this time. I mean, I don't look that different from some of the people here, right?"

Toothless grunted and looked at Hiccup with a slight glare, annoyed at his rider's train of thought. As the black dragon went back to looking at the kingdom, Hiccup once again removed his dragon scale armor and leather armor and placed it on the saddle.

"I'll be back soon, bud. Hopefully, with a map this time."

Toothless cooed at Hiccup, signaling to be careful. Hiccup got the message and assured his dragon things would be fine, as he turned to walk toward the town.

"I mean, what could go wrong?" he said. Toothless, finding his question terrible, threw a stone at Hiccup. Nevertheless, the young Viking chief kept at his pace.

* * *

When he reached the market place, Hiccup took note of the many shops that littered the streets, along with the characters who inhabited the streets. Hiccup took note of this and realized where he is and thought he could find information or a map. But when he walked within the distance of a shop selling candy, Hiccup couldn't help but be distracted by the scent of pastries coming from it. Unable to focus on his task, the Viking decided to take a look inside the place, named Monty's Sweet Shoppe.

The door swung open as it rung the bell, letting the owner know of Hiccup's presence. He greeted Hiccup with a warm smile and waved him in.

"Welcome to my shop," the man said, a kind, jolly tone in his voice, "Haven't seen you here before. Have a look around. Can't celebrate the Grand Kingdom Meeting without something sweet."

"I take it you're Monty then?" Hiccup said, still distracted by the smell and looking for the source.

"Indeed," Monty replied with a chuckle, "But everyone calls me Uncle Monty." He noticed Hiccup was barely paying any mind. "I know what you want. I take it you're a pastry fan?"

The Viking had never heard of pastries, which surprised Monty when the man heard Hiccup ask what they are. In response, the shop owner pulled out a tray that held the source of the smell to the delightment of Hiccup.

"You'll love them. Attila bakes them himself each day. He even grows the berries himself. Finest baker in the kingdom if you ask me."

"Then send him my compliments," Hiccup said. He turned around to continue browsing but bumped into the back of another man. The man had a hulking figure that could put some of the Vikings back home to shame and wore a horned helmet that completely covered his head. Hiccup backed away from the man as he raised his hands.

"Sorry about that."

The man turned around to face Hiccup, who was now expecting the worst. Out of habit, the young Viking prepared himself to run. However, the man was holding a tray of said pastries Hiccup was admiring earlier. Hiccup looked at the plate and reached out, subconsciously.

"Careful now! This tray is piping hot." The man said as he took the tray back, the sweet smell of freshly baked pastries still had hit Hiccup's nose. The man surely knew his craft, as the smell of his dish proved to be a mighty force that could rival Thor's hammer. Hiccup had been enjoying the various scents in the sweet shop, but these pastries won in a fight for flavor. The man chuckled and snapped out of his stupor.

"Big fan of baked goods, aren't ya?" the man asked. Out of joy of seeing a happy customer, he moved the tray closer to Hiccup.

"Can you blame him? You're the best baker in the kingdom, Attila." Monty laughed heartily. Something Hiccup took notice. The man enjoyed seeing his customers happy. Then the Viking realized what he said.

"You're Attila?" Hiccup asked in disbelief. Back at Berk, anyone that big you would see among the honor guards, not baking or cooking.

As if reading Hiccup's thoughts, Attila assumed the same when he spoke.

"Yeah, you wouldn't believe a guy like me can bake. But here in Corona, dreams have been coming true."

Attila looked though he may break into song. When the doorbell rang, that broke any chance to carry the tune. With the extra customers that came, Attila dropped the tray onto the counter and went back to baking. Hiccup still had his face full of shock when Monty spoke again.

"It's true! People have been living their dreams here for a while now, ever since The Lost Princess returned. Attila here became the best baker ever. An ex-thug named Hook Hand is going on tour as a concert pianist with his brother. And guess who brought the princess back?"

"Uhh...another ex-thug?"

"More like ex-thief. Flynn Rider...well he goes by Eugene now. And guess what? The two fell in love and married. I'm telling you dreams come true here."

Hiccup skeptically looked at Monty, having not entirely bought the story. After all, tales of forbidden romances between thieves and royalty were only read in books seldom found in trade ports. To Hiccup, the idea of a kingdom of dreams seemed far fetched. With a shook head, Hiccup paid for some baked goods and walked out of the shop with a wave good-bye. But before he left, Hiccup remembered why he came., no longer distracted by the sweets.

"By the way, you wouldn't happen to know where one can get a map?"

Monty gazed at the man. He didn't know anything about Hiccup, but no one he knew every walked into his shop to ask for a map. To say it was suspicious, was an understatement. But Monty saw no ill will in Hiccup and pointed him further down the market place.

* * *

A walk through the streets, allowed Hiccup to see more "dreamers" of Corona. He saw things he hadn't seen in other towns and villages, not even Viking homes. A thuggish man was wearing make-up and being a mime. Across from him, a beautiful woman had been in the arms of another thuggish looking fellow with a big nose. And Hiccup saw another towering, thuggish figure, only more so than Attila, who held two tiny, ceramic unicorns in his hands and made them kiss, with a smile. Hiccup now was walking with a bewildered look on his face.

"Just makes your heart melt, huh?" slurred a voice. Hiccup looked around and found the source below sight, a short, gruff, older man sitting under a window.

"Corona is just one of the places where dreams come true. Right, buddy?"

Hiccup could not respond but only stare, having become a little stunned at the time.

"Hey, come now. Turn that frown upside! Come ooon. There you go! See Milton. You just needed a different perspective." The man doggedly pointed to a goat, which bleated in response.

Hiccup decided that now would be the best time to walk away. And that's what happened. Hiccup walked away. Slowly.

By the time Hiccup felt like he made a reasonable distance between him and the older adult, he found the center of the market place. He had planted himself on the edge of the fountain in the center. He needed to soak in everything. And that's when he heard a gasp coming from a little girl. She had been looking at Hiccup in excitement. With an awkward wave, a nervous Viking moved to the side a bit. But when he moved, the girl followed. Hiccup panicked, trying to see if he had discovered. Fortunately, he had been wrong.

"You braid your hair?" the little girl asked with pure innocence and a pointed finger.

Hiccup resumed staring in response; no words escaped his mouth.

"You have braids in your hair. Do you braid it? My sisters and I have never seen braids on a guy before."

With a glance and hand that combed over, Hiccup remembered that despite the festivities, he was still a stranger in a strange land. Being found as different had been an inevitability, but found it odd that he had forgotten.

"Oh. Oh! Yeah. Yeah. I have braids. And no, I don't braid my hair. Someone did that a couple of years ago." Hiccup hung his head slightly at the last few words until a voice snapped him out of his brief mope.

"Come one! Come all! Prepare to be amazed!" Shouted a boy. Turning around, Hiccup saw a boy, who reminded of him seven years ago, on a stage, where the girl was going. Next to the boy had been a strange device. It resembled a combination of a stove oven and a tiny forge, all in a cylindrical shape.

"Feast your eyes on this! Through the miracle of alchemy, I, Varian, have created a new form of metal. With my latest invention!"

Hiccup chuckled inwardly, remembering how he exhibited the same behavior when he was Varian's age. Excitement filled the air, along with the scattered "here we go again" comment. To Hiccup, it seemed Varian also had a knack for showing off inventions. And like Hiccup, Varian had hoped they would work as intended, only for some to fail.

As more gathered, some special guests had joined the crowd: a blonde child with two guards, a young boy in armor with red hair, and Rapunzel and Cassandra, whom Varian invited. Cassandra looked to the stage and had a shield ready. At a distance, a carriage stopped for a look, and the two ladies inside, one of red hair and the other blonde, split the curtains for a better view.

Varian saw his friends and decided it was time to begin. He walked over to the device, a lever, and took some materials out of a bag he had on him. He opened a lid on top and began.

"First, I shall add the materials," he said and placed them inside. Varian made sure the device was sealed tight and grasped the lever on the side.

"Now, prepare to see a new element!"

As the lever went down, the machine rumbled and shook the stage. The crowd looked on in suspense and awe. Today seemed to hold great things for Varian, as the device grew louder and louder. The air had thickened with the added silence of the crowd. Everyone leaned in, waiting for the machine to finish.

Varian had been working and testing his device for months now, and this was going to be his moment. While he looked to the crowd in glee, the machine started smoking. It was then that Varian had remembered something. In his excitement, he forgot to clean the inner workings of gears and metal, which ensured that it ran smoothly.

"Oh, no. Would everyone please step away from the stage!" Varian shouted as he left the stage, to which they complied and ran back a few feet, even Hiccup. Everyone guarded themselves for what could happen. Rapunzel tried to step up to, only to be blocked by Cassandra, who brought up a shield to protect her. Hiccup looked to Varian sympathetically, for he had an idea what would happen next. Wishing he could help, but Hiccup did not want to draw attention to himself. The armored boy looked around as he prepared for the worst, with shield up. The two guards went in front of the young, blonde-haired boy. They tried to get him to back away further, but the boy wanted to see what would happen. From the carriage, the two women shared different reactions.

"You think everything will be alright, Elsa?" the red hair woman asked her sister.

Elsa looked at the stage with some fright. She had hoped if they came, there would be no trouble. She understood this event could do nothing to make her doubt, but she still worried about her sister's, Anna's, safety. Elsa ordered the carriage rider to go, but not before noticing some of the crowd, including the special guests. Anna looked back to see what was happening; curiosity got the best of her.

Bolts began to shoot from the machine as it expands with steam and fire that came from the cracks. It hadn't been long before the device exploded, and the stage lit up.

Rapunzel pushed past from behind Cassandra. She became more concerned about her people that her safety at the moment. With the crowd in somewhat panicked, Rapunzel decided to act and ordered Cassandra to follow her.

"Is everyone alright? Make sure the person next to you is fine. Varian!" she called for her friend, "Where are you? Are you hurt?"

"I'm fine," he said from beside her, something that startled both princess and handmaiden. As the flames went on, guards were coming to see what was the matter and resolve the issue. Rapunzel scanned the area to check on the people present and noticed a couple of things. To her confusion and slight gratitude, a young boy in armor had been racing around, making sure everyone survived before he headed to the remains of the stage. The two guards, Sir Bart and Sir Kay helped the boy up, as the explosion caught him off guard and made him fall, they looked towards him and then to the surroundings.

What she did not catch, however, was Hiccup sneaking away from the scene. He could not afford to get caught up in this; he needed to get home. The information and the map had to wait. He managed to sneak away quietly, without alarming the guards or drawing any suspicion.

"King Arthur, are you alright?"

"I am fine. But what caused that explosion? I must know." Arthur ran past the guards to investigate the machine. The guards followed forthwith.

"Excuse me?" Arthur politely asked, "But what happened with your...thing?"

"Um...well...you see-" Varian could not get much of a word in before the guards caught up.

"Your Majesty! Please wait that man could be dangerous!"

"Your Majesty?" Rapunzel asked, to no one in particular. Looking towards the boy, Rapunzel recalled the list of guests and kingdoms and remembered that a young boy made king months ago would be attending.

"You wouldn't happen to be King Arthur, right?"

Arthur nodded in response.

"Then I apologize for this event...I am Rapunzel, Princess of Corona. I know this looks dangerous, but I can assure you of that this has become a rare occurrence and-"

"Rare occurrence?" Sir Bart interrupted. "This man causes an explosion, yet you treat it as nothing? Is this as rare as you say, or is this boy mad?"

Varian winced at Sir Bart's words. For in his past, his invention had been "under-appreciated," as he would say. Varian has always seemed gifted with a great mind, and ideas could flood in at any moment. Whenever he brought his ideas to life, however, he brought the probability that they could fail. Sometimes they worked; it had never been a string of failures. He had a decent rate of success. At times, like today, his overexcitement got the better of him.

Today, Varian had hoped it would be another success, "had" being the keyword. Having a failed experiment, never hindered him. Rapunzel would help him when she could. Listening about how his machine could have harmed the king of a visiting country was another set of circumstances entirely. This situation alone could harm Corona's relationship with the other kingdoms. However, things were not grim.

"Sir Bart, Sir Kay, I am fine!" the young Arthur exclaimed, "So what went wrong with your device?"

The way Arthur looked meant that Varian had not been in trouble with the king. Varian realized that he was in the presence of another inquisitive mind that wanted to sate his curiosity. This curiosity changed things, only by a bit. Varian still needed to leave. He did not wish for a visiting king to know how he forgot an important step.

"Well, your highness. First off, I'm sorry about this, but I'm afraid I won't know till I have examined the remains. Which I need to do right now."

Varian got lucky, but he didn't want to see how far that luck could go. While he walked towards the stage, he heard the steps of Arthur, his guards, Rapunzel, and Cassandra. He saw the armored boy in the crowd looking over what was left. Upon their arrival, the boy knelt.

"My apologies, your majesties. I hope you all are alright. It is a stain on my honor as a knight to have allowed anyone to come to harm. Be it you or the citizens of this kingdom."

"You are a knight?" Sir Bart inquired. "Speak your name."

"I am Sir Justin of Gabylonia. Newest knight to the Knights of Valor. I have come to the answer of my queen's order to attend the Grand Kingdom Meeting as a show of faith and respect to her allies." Sir Justin never changed his posture and stayed on his knee.

"Sir Justin," Rapunzel stepped forward, "You have shown your respect and have honored Gabylonia's allies. As the princess of Corona, I thank you for your services."

"And I as well. As king of England, I thank you for your honor and courage. You may now rise."

Justin rose at Arthur's command, earning him a nod of approval from Sir Bart, Sir Kay, and Cassandra. He looked towards Varian with a different expression.

"My apologies, Varian. Whatever of your instrument is left has melted or burned to dust. I hope this won't deter you. It sounded truly magnificent."

Varian smiled at Justin, grateful for his words. He looked to the remains and decided to start and see what he could grab. Rapunzel went over to help, but Varian signaled that he wouldn't need her help.

"I'll be a while. Ra- Princess Rapunzel, I believe you must see to your guest. I will leave you be. Thank you."

Rapunzel agreed and told Varian she would meet with him at a later time. She gestured to her guests to follow her to the castle. Justin stayed behind to help Varian, said it's a knight duty to help the country's people.

"Good lad," Bart remarked.

"I take it we must pay these Knights of Valor a visit then?" Sir Kay questioned.

"I still say we should have taken a look." Arthur looked back at the site. "Any knowledge gained is still something of value. Even from this."

Bart and Kay made sure Arthur kept walking to the castle for protection, as they went on. Rapunzel decided to show Arthur the sites they passed on their way, hoping this would appease his hunger for knowledge, for now. Some of the guards followed to protect her and the young king.

* * *

Varian and Justin picked up the few parts that could answer or clarify what the problem was and walked in the other direction.

"By the way, did you notice the man who ran?" Justin asked with metal plates on his shield, which he used as a basket.

"Which one? A lot of people ran when I told them to back away."

"I didn't get a good look at him, but I noticed he had a peg leg. He ran away when guards started to appear. I don't think he wanted to be spotted."

"What thug does?"

"True, but most of the criminals here have changed their ways here. How many would truly run away from a scene unless they are up to something? And with the Grand Kingdom Meeting here?"

"Alright," Varian talked as he thought, "First, we get this back to my lab. After putting everything away, I may have something that can help us find Mr. Peg-leg. I won't be able to find anything with this. I could use an adventure, I guess."

"Agreed, I'll get my companion, Talia. And then we search."

**And now we stop here. OH boy, what will this mean for Hiccup? We won't know for a while, but more is happening today. Just a reminder of who owns what. Dreamworks owns How to Train Your Dragon. Disney owns Tangled, Frozen, Sword in the Stone, and Brave. Sony Pictures Entertainment and Entertainment One distributed Justin and the Knights of Valor, but Kandor Graphics created it so they should own it. Tune in next week as we see how things went with Rapunzel. Please leave a review and have a nice day. **


	3. Political Greetings

**Hello once again. I got another chapter prepped and ready to read. Now just to reiterate the following: ****Dreamworks owns How to Train Your Dragon. Disney owns Tangled, Frozen, Sword in the Stone, and Brave. Sony Pictures Entertainment and Entertainment One distributed Justin and the Knights of Valor, but Kandor Graphics created it so they should own it.**

By the time Rapunzel, Cassandra, King Arthur, and his two guards arrived at the castle, the princess had almost become exhausted. The walk to the palace had turned into a tour. And the young King Arthur had so many questions with Rapunzel having not all the answers. She could barely keep up. Eugene met them in the entrance hall and held her up. If neither he nor Cassandra had been there, Rapunzel might have collapsed.

"Blondie you alright?" he said with concern. He held onto the sides of his wife's face. Rapunzel's eye barely stayed open. "I heard there was an explosion, but I think there's something else now."

Rapunzel relaxed in his hand before she looked at him with a peaceful expression. After a moment of silence, the princess spoke.

"Everything is fine. Varian just had another experiment to show. You know how excited he got for the Grand Kingdom Meeting."

At her words, Eugene stopped, let go of her face, and held her hand. He knew of Varian's invention, his overexcitement, and had witnessed a few of them. The boy was a big fan of Flynn Rider, Eugene's old name. Sadly, Varian confused the name with the storybook character from which Eugene took it. It took a while for Eugene to explain until the boy understood.

"What happened? I thought he said he had the kinks ironed out of this one." Eugene rubbed the back of his head. With the dismissal of Varian's accident, the visiting knights glanced at each other. They, along with their king, stared at the Corona's royal couple with curiosity.

"Oh pardon me," Rapunzel now noticed her guest and realized they might not know Eugene. She stepped top the side to allow both parties a better view of each other. "Allow me to introduce my husband and Prince of Corona, Eugene Fitzherbert. He was just worried about me."

Noticing the guest, Eugene realized he had to put on the royal act.

"Yes, excuse me for not introducing myself. I was busy arranging some arrangements for the Grand Kingdom Meeting."

Sir Kay eyed Eugene suspiciously. He had seen the prince somewhere before. After a closer look, the knight recognized him.

"Aren't you one the guys on the wanted poster?"

Silence filled the room as Eugene and Rapunzel stared in surprise. After the king pardoned Eugene of his crimes, all the posters of the former thief were removed from boards and anywhere people would gather. It seemed that they were wrong. Sir Kay had seen one that hadn't been taken down. Eugene decided it was best to tell the truth, and hoped nothing went wrong.

"I'm afraid you're right

, Kay."

"Sir Kay," The knight didn't want to be talked to casually by a wanted man.

"Sir Kay. You've seen one of my old posters. Which is incredible cause no one can seem to recognize that the man is me. It's something about the nose." Eugene noticed he was going off track. Sir Kay narrowed his eyes at the prince, as did Sir Bart. "Ahem. Anyway, I was once a thief, Flynn Rider. You may have heard of me. And to make a long story short, I found Rapunzel here, The Lost Princess. And when I returned her to her parents, the king and queen pardoned me of my crimes here in Corona, not sure about everywhere else, though."

Rapunzel looked to Eugene in support as he told his past and lovingly squeezed his shoulder. Cassandra even gave a nod of approval. Telling his story was not easy or smart most of the time. Thankfully, this had been a bright idea.

"But before I returned her, I fell in love with her. And she gave me a chance, as she did for most of the criminals and thugs in Corona. And all of us have been changed men since then. And I have never once regretted it."

It was Eugene's turn to show his affection, as he reached for his wife's hand and gently squeezed it. The two knights were slightly suspicious, but they decided to leave Eugene alone, for now.

"Uh, pardon me...Prince Eugene was it?" cut in a polite King Arthur. "This may be odd to ask, but why do you call your wife 'Blondie' when she has brown hair?"

Cassandra had to leave and stifled the laugh that threatened to exit. The handmaiden was worried for her friend but found Arthur's innocence too much for her. Rapunzel tried to keep a smile, but she was wiped out from the young king's previous questions.

"Well, now that's a fun- mmph!"

Rapunzel covered her husband's mouth to prevent having to answer more questions that would surely follow. And she did not have the energy.

"A story which we'll tell later in the week of the Grand Kingdom Meeting."

Satisfied, for now, Arthur asked for directions to the library. Rapunzel had two guards show him the way, as Sir Bart and Kay followed. The silence gave Rapunzel a chance to catch her breath as she leaned on Eugene, who comforted her.

"For a kid, the king is quite hmm...inquisitive?"

"You have no idea," Rapunzel vented, "Apparently, the sword Arthur pulled out of the stone, was said to have appeared from the heavens. And it said that who so ever pulled it out, would be king of England."

"So, the kid was made king because the sword said so?" Eugene could not believe a word of this. "They have to be making this up."

"No, that's what happened. Sir Bart said the same thing. That has to be a terrible way to pick a king."Cassandra remarked as she returned to the room.

"That's not everything. Because the previous king had no heir, England was busy finding a new king all these years. So by the time Arthur became king, The world was already more than a few steps ahead."

"So only bothering to find a king left England in the dark ages." Cassandra laughed a little at that. She stopped when she felt the stares of her friends. "Sorry."

"It's alright. Arthur is a sweet boy. He's just curious."

"Wait until your next guest. It'll probably be worse."

"Eugene, what are you talking about-"

The horns blared once more. Rapunzel, who jumped up a bit, turned around to greet her next guests. She stood in the entrance halls when her guest arrived. So the princess had to welcome them. To be ready, Rapunzel put herself in a state of a calm mind and stood in a regal posture.

"Presenting her majesties. Queen Elsa of Arendelle and her sister Princess Anna!"

And both of those went out the window like they never existed. As soon as the royals of Arendelle entered the room, Rapunzel raced to the door. Anna saw her and did the same, while Elsa kept at a walking pace that looked like she was gliding. A few guards noticed Elsa and began to blush, an effect she had from time to time. Elsa smiled as Rapunzel and Anna greeted each other with a hug. Their laughter filled the halls.

"It's so good to see you again!" Anna said with a silvery tone. Letting go of each other, they both got a better look. Anna noticed her cousin looked a bit tired."Were you waiting for us? Sorry, we would have been here sooner, but we stopped at the market place, and there was this guy on stage-"

"You were there at Varian's presentation?!"

Elsa's smile dropped at those words. She didn't like the idea that her cousin may have been in danger.

"You were there?" Elsa asked, wide-eyed with concern. "Were you unharmed?"

"Yes, and don't worry. Varian gets over excited, but we are always ready. Plus, Cass brought her shield."

Cassandra banged on her shield a couple of times to emphasize Rapunzel's point.

"Greetings, your majesties," Cassandra addressed Elsa and Anna. She greeted the two with a bow and knelt. "I am Cassandra. Princess Rapunzel's handmaiden and bodyguard."

"And best friend," Rapunzel added with a smile.

Cassandra rolled her eyes with a small smile as she rose up.

"I'm curious why a handmaiden would also be a bodyguard," spoke Elsa.

"Oh, Elsa, it's simple," Rapunzel answered. "You know how I like to paint? Well, Cass here likes to collect weapons and train with them."

"She gets it from being raised by the captain of the royal guards. Scares away unwanted suitors too," Eugene jested, his presence now noticed with a slight glare from Cassandra. "How was the trip?"

"Eugene, it's great to see you too!" Anna hugged Eugene. "The boat ride over here took a while, but it's worth it seeing you two again."

"Good to see you, too, Anna." Eugene looked to Elsa, who still had a smile. "Same to you, Elsa."

Elsa dropped the smile.

"Really?"

Elsa kept a neutral expression. Anna had let go already but was hiding a smile behind her hand.

"Fine, It's good to see you, Queen Elsa."

Elsa smirked.

"Thank you, Prince Eugene. Rapunzel, it's good to see you again."

"Oh come on, I get called Prince Eugene, but you call Rapunzel by her name?"

Anna giggles escaped from her mouth. She knew that Elsa was having fun. And her theory was proven correct when Elsa's smirk turned into a smile. Rapunzel opened her arms to hug Elsa but stopped when Elsa gave a hesitant look.

"Still a little..?"

"Yeah, sorry," Elsa said. She walked over to Rapunzel and returned her cousin's hug. "I'm still getting used to this. Greeting more of my family. Besides Anna, of course."

Rapunzel smiled in return as she let go of her cousin. It had been too long, in her eyes, of when she saw them last.

"So Olaf couldn't make it?" Rapunzel had to ask.

Elsa and Anna shook their heads.

"No, the little guy is great, but I believe with magic being the topic of this meeting, it would be better to leave him home. I doubt a living snowman would ease anyone after that explosion if they heard or saw. There are not enough warm hugs, as Anna would say."

"Oh, Elsa, relax." Anna quipped. "Rapunzel said so herself no one got hurt and it looked fun. What was he trying to do, by the way?"

As Rapunzel told Anna the stage events, Elsa noticed Cassandra eyeing her cautiously. Cassandra had only glanced subtly, but Elsa picked up on it. The handmaiden tensed up and straightened her back, as the queen turned to her direction.

"Afraid?" Elsa stated in a matter of fact tone.

While she knew not to fear Elsa, the handmaiden was not enthusiastic about magic. So while being a little tense, Cassandra decided to play nice and bowed.

"My apologies, Queen Elsa. But as you said, things are tense this year."

Elsa stared at Cassandra for a moment before she relaxed her posture a bit.

"Understandable, Miss Cassandra." The handmaiden tensed up. She did not like being called Cassandra. "I agree, the event would make one...tense. However, I can assure you that while I am benevolent..."

Elsa waved her hand into the air. With a twist of her wrist and twirling her fingers, a large pile of snow appeared out of thin air and landed on Eugene. Cassandra looked on in disbelief and mirth. She had her finger pointed in a zigzagged manner between Elsa and the snow pile. Eugene popped his head out unamused.

"Oh come!" he exclaimed, "I'm pretty sure I didn't deserve that one either!"

Anna couldn't hold herself together as her laughter echoed through the halls. Rapunzel even laughed at her husband's predicament. Eugene glared a little, not finding the humor in being buried in snow. Rapunzel went over to help him out.

"Don't worry, Eugene," Anna said between laughs, "I'm sure we'll think of a reason."

"Yes...well, until then, Anna and I would like to get settled in before any other activities."

Rapunzel called forth a guard to guide Elsa and Anna to their rooms. Elsa followed the guard while Anna giggled for a while longer. It wasn't until they were out of earshot did Cassandra speak.

"I don't know whether to respect her or fear her." Cassandra walked toward Rapunzel and Eugene, who was dusting off the remaining snow. "I mean, anyone who does that to Eugene, I gotta give them credit for that."

"Oh ho ho ho. Hilarious, Next time, how about we ask Elsa to bury you in the snow next time."

"There's going to be a next time?"

Eugene was about to retort but realized its pointless. He just stared at Cassandra. His face made no change, but he held out his hands and looked as though he was trying to say 'really?'. Rapunzel laughed and stepped in between the two.

"Calm down, you two. Elsa and Anna are probably a little tired, that's all. Boats aren't the fastest, and if the wind isn't good, well, you know. I mean, it's not like there is a better, faster way to travel. Am I right?"

Neither Eugene nor Cassandra had a chance to remark, comment, or answer Rapunzel as horns blared once more in the halls.

"Presenting their majesties, King Fergus, Queen Elinor, and their daughter Princess Merida of the Kingdom of DunBroch."

At this, Cassandra had her shield ready and took her place in front of the royal couple.

"Here we go," Cassandra said, "I was wondering when this would happen."

Rapunzel placed a hand on Cassandra and looked to her softly. Cassandra tried to speak, but the princess wouldn't have it. Cassandra stood down as Rapunzel took a step forward.

To say that King Fergus was enormous, could be an understatement. He was very tall and wide and looked like he could take on the most hardened thugs of Corona. And he walked very sternly, despite the presence of a peg leg, which mismatched his steps. His presence alone made Rapunzel wonder whether she should have had Cassandra stay in front. A thought then occurred to the princess, how the warriors would appear. Ignoring the fear in her mind, Rapunzel stepped forward and took notice of the queen and princess. The princess had known that not everyone is as tough as they look at times. The king may not be so different.

In contrast to her husband, the princess noticed Queen Elinor was slim and small. She walked softly yet had a regal pose about her and with a smile on her face. She wore a crown and a green dress that seemed longer than it needed to be but did nothing to hinder her pace.

Princess Merida had a look that showed anxiety and tension. She seemed nervous about coming here. She wore a blue dress with a hood that covered her hair and a circlet around the hood.

Both parties stopped in the center of the hall. For one second, time seemed to stop as this was a first time meeting for both kingdoms. Rapunzel placed all the anxiety and fear in her mind and pushed it away.

"King Fergus of DunBoch." she exclaimed, "I am Princess Rapunzel of Corona. Thank you for joining us in this Grand Kingdom Meeting. I understand this is the first time our kingdoms are meeting, and I wish to welcome you to the Kingdom of Corona on behalf of my parents, King Fredric and Queen Arianna. Meet my husband, Prince Eugene."

Eugene waves, before he remembered he should be bowing.

"And this is my bodyguard Cassandra."

Cassandra did not move nor make a gesture. It wasn't until Rapunzel lightly stomped on her foot, that she bowed as well.

Rapunzel got a terrible case of déjà vu from her speech. She hoped, after a long day, this would be the last time she would say these words. She quickly doubted that thought, as more kings, queens, and other members of the nobility of other kingdoms could appear.

King Fergus and Queen Elinor looked to each other before they smiled at Rapunzel and bowed, Merida quickly followed.

"Thank you for your warm reception Princess Rapunzel." Queen Elinor stood up straight as did her husband and daughter. After a moment of silence, Elinor elbowed her husband as quickly and discreetly as possible.

"What? Oh yes. Ahem. Thank you for your hospitality Princess Rapunzel." King Fergus said, trying to sound very official, something his wife had talked with him about on the ride over.

Since learning of numerous magical events that happened in other kingdoms, the king and queen, well mostly the queen, believed it would be best if The Kingdom of DunBroch attended the meeting. By coming, they would learn more about magic, and it's inner workings, hopefully.

After agreeing to attend the meeting, Fergus and Elinor realized that by visiting a land of different cultures, they would need to learn the behavior and procedures of the kingdoms. After all, DunBroch was still young in comparison to other domains. Fergus and Elinor are the first king and queen. That meant they had to work hard to prove themselves to other royals, diplomats, and anyone else of importance at the meeting. King Fergus complained, but not as much as Merida.

While the king thought it to be silly to learn the cultures of "galoots," as he phrased it, Merida knew what that meant for her. More princess lessons. After the incident where she accidentally turned her mother into a bear, Merida thought she had changed her fate. But she held the title of princess. So that meant she would have to learn how to act like one again.

The lessons made her previous one seem more fun. She had dress rehearsals, elocution classes, proper etiquette training, just for starters. And after all the extra work, Merida was not exactly looking forward to the Grand Kingdom Meeting. The idea of magic is fascinating, but it also meant, to her, that it would be full of people with a lot of time and fancy things, judging her and her clan. She may not have wanted to go, but the word was final. The only thing everyone agreed on was that the boys stayed at the castle. Everyone knew they didn't need trouble, and triplets who like to cause it at a moment's notice is high on the list.

So now Merida had been standing in the halls of Corona castle. When she saw that, the princess, not the king and queen, had welcomed them, she then felt nervous.

"Merida?" her mother whispered. King Fergus was still talking to Rapunzel.

She didn't know if she had prepared as much as she thought.

"Merida," Elinor whispered again, only this time she tapped her daughter on the shoulder. That got her attention. A little stunned, Merida looked to her mother, who gestured, with her head, over to Rapunzel, who had finished talking with King Fergus. Time for Merida's turn, now she just hoped she wouldn't screw this up.

"Princess Rapunzel, thank ye-"

And now she realized she should have spent more time paying attention to her lessons.

"-for welcoming us. A'm-I'm Merida, Princess of Dunbroch."

And now she hoped she would make it through.

King Fergus smiled a bit at the situation while Elinor, who was happy to see Merida had paid some attention to her lesson, stared a bit. They both knew she was doing her best.

"I hope that we can show you just how we of the Kingdom of Dunbroch are."

That last line did not go so well. Merida was not going to like what she would probably hear from her mother. Despite the fact the two have become more understanding of each other, Elinor had been rigid about making a good impression. Merida continued to look toward Rapunzel. What she thought had made a terrible impression, done nothing of the sorts. Rapunzel gave Merida a warm smile that held no judgment.

"It's my pleasure, Princess Merida. Thank you for coming. I know this must be different from the Highlands. I heard it's beautiful with forests and bays."

That made everyone smile, and it relieved the tension in the room. Hearing praise for the Highlands had given Merida, Elinor, Fergus a sense of respect for Rapunzel.

"Thank ye," said Merida. "Ay hope ye don't mind if I talk like this, it's a wee bit better for me."

"Not if you don't mind that I don't wear shoes," Rapunzel replied as she bared a foot from her dress.

The Highlanders had not expected to see that the Princess of Corona had forgone any footwear. It was surprising. Merida believed she could find a friend in the princess. But before another word could be said, new voices appeared.

"King Fergus and Queen Elinor! Welcome!" exclaimed the voice of King Fredric, with Queen Arianna behind him. The two entered the hall with a smile on their faces, having heard Rapunzel warm welcome. Culture difference aside, the King and Queen of Corona showed no ill will to the DunBroch Kingdom, though King Fredric was still nervous.

"I see my Rapunzel has taken the liberty to greet you already." When the King and Queen of Corona caught up and stood besides Rapunzel, the Royals of DunBroch bowed again.

Queen Arianna chuckled at the gesture. King Fredric, hesitantly, held his hand out. While he is still in a state of anxiety, Fredric thought if he didn't show a proper amount of respect to the kingdom of warriors, he could create a whole new set of problems. King Fergus stood for a moment before he grabbed the hand with his own. The two shook and then let go of each other. The room was void of sound.

"I take it the journey wasn't too difficult?" King Fredric said, breaking the ice.

"Ha! There be no sea too strong for us." King Fergus placed his hand on his heart with his remark. Both queens chuckled at the behavior, while King Fredric put on a smile. Eugene looked toward Rapunzel before going back to the Highlanders. Cassandra kept her guard up as high as she could. Rapunzel knew things were a little bit too much for them, and her. To say she was exhausted, would be just wrong.

Arianna took notice of this and had a feeling her daughter had taken on more than she could handle.

"I think we should let the young ones rest," Queen Arianna said as she walked between the two kings, "The Grand Kingdom Meeting will officially start tomorrow, I believe they will need more time to rest."

"Ay. This true. And I believe we all could use some rest," Queen Elinor agreed as she looked towards her husband. "It's time we went to our rooms."

Fergus nodded in agreement. King Fredric and Queen Arianna called for a guard to show the Celts their rooms. As they left Rapunzel, Cassandra, and Eugene in the hall, the princess now felt free. She had become so tired that the walk to her room felt the same as a run around Corona, three times.

When she finally entered her room, the first thing she needed was a nap. And so she crashed onto her bed, or she hoped it was her bed. She couldn't tell at the moment, but it was her bed. She needed to rest, and sunset would not arrive for four more hours.

Eugene and Cassandra took a seat on the bed, besides Rapunzel, in case she would wake up. Tomorrow would have another adventure.

In the market place, three figures walked around inquisitively, asking people if they have seen a man with a peg leg. Well, two of them, Justin and Varian, continued to, the third, a woman, sat down by the fountain in the center.

"How much longer are we going to look for this 'Peg-leg'?" she asked, "Nobody's seen this guy. Maybe if you had a better description..."

"Talia," Justin said to calm her down, "I know this doesn't seem like a real adventure, but a man that runs when the guards show up means he is of ill intent. With the Grand Kingdom Meeting here in Corona, the man could be but a warning of what's to come or worse."

Talia stared at her companion before she could burst out laughing. Not taking anything the knight had said earnestly, she walked over to Varian.

"I heard of a nice sweet shop down the road for a bit. If you find anything, meet me there. OK?"

With that, she blew a kiss to Justin and walked away. Varian nodded. In secret, he agreed with her. He didn't believe the idea that some random stranger running away from an explosion, warranted enough effort to search for him all this time. Having taken a seat by the fountain where Talia had been, Varian had enough.

"Listen, Justin, I know you mean well, but let's stop for now. No one's seen anyone with a peg leg. I think the only man with a peg was Hook Foot, and he had a hook for a foot. That's different from a peg leg. I think your girlfriend's right. We're wasting time."

Justin took a seat beside Varian. As the newest knight, he had wanted to bring honor among those who had taken up the armor, including his grandfather Sir Roland, who had inspired him to do so.

Justin looked around, and he started to agree. Maybe it was pointless — a wild goose chase.

"Did you mean the man with the braids?"

Justin and Varian look around to see a little girl right by them.

"There was a man with a peg leg here a while ago, and he had braids."

That was enough to have the two jump upon the girl with questions about his whereabouts. Then they realized they spoke too fast and had to ask again at a moderate pace. She didn't know much but said she saw him coming in the same direction Talia left. They thanked her and ran off towards Talia with the news. Maybe this wasn't a wild goose chase after all.

Talia had entered Monty's Sweet Shoppe, craving whatever he had before she took a step inside.

"This is much better," she dreamily sighed, "This is something to take your time on. Not on some guy with a peg-leg."

With that last word, Monty turned towards Talia.

"Did you say peg-leg?"

**And we stop here. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Next week Justin, Talia, and Varian will meet Hiccup. How will that turn out? Wait for the next chapter and find out. Leave a review, I would like to hear your thoughts so far. Have a nice day.**


	4. Mayhem In Misunderstandings

**Hello again. BeConFuzzled Writer here with another chapter. I hope you enjoy it. Disclaimer: I own nothing. ****Dreamworks owns How to Train Your Dragon. Disney owns Tangled, Frozen, Sword in the Stone, and Brave. Sony Pictures Entertainment and Entertainment One distributed Justin and the Knights of Valor, but Kandor Graphics created it, so they own it.**

Talia had wished Justin never talked her into coming to Corona. When she journeyed with him, she knew adventure would never always be there. But with the festivities and the likes happening, and all Justin could think of was a man who could "threaten" the Grand Kingdom Meeting.

"They really should have thought of a better name," she thought.

When she passed by a particular sweet shop, the scents of sweets hijacked her mind. It overwhelmed the warrior woman to the point where she had to go inside. From the selection of the shop, Talia wanted nothing more than to try every kind of candy and pastry they had. Sadly, there weren't nearly enough coins on her for that, but Talia did not care. Not knowing where to start, she walked up to Monty, who was handing free samples.

"Hello there. Care for one?" Monty held out a small tray with circles of chocolate that had suns on it painted to look golden. "It's a new dish Attila, and I have been working on. We call them Golden Suns."

"Seriously, you're handing them out?" Talia couldn't believe this was true.

"New marketing technique. After all, you'll never know if you like it if you don't try it."

New or not, Monty's marketing tactic worked, and Talia took a disc. One bite and she was in a chocolate adventure she wasn't sure would end soon. Each bite gave way to a smooth, creamy taste that crashed like waves. To her displeasure, Talia had swallowed the chocolate too fast. But she made up her mind on what to buy.

Monty rang her up, and soon the warrior woman had been hugging, in her opinion, a decent bag of chocolate. Having realized what she was doing, Talia gave a sheepish smile to Monty, whose face showed no judgment. He smiled and even offered to throw in a couple of extras and went to the back for more.

"This is much better," she dreamily sighed, "This is something to take your time on. Not on some guy with a peg-leg."

With that last word, Monty, who just came back, gave Talia a curious face.

"Did you say peg-leg?"

Talia's face deflated. She could not believe what is now happening. She went to the shop to get away from Justin's "adventure," not follow it. Then the warrior woman thought the man must have been enchanted by the smell as well. How many could resist this smell? So she decided to one-up Justin, or at least prove it's nothing, and investigated.

"Yes," Talia started with a reflated face, "my boyfriend thinks this guy with a peg-leg is suspicious. It's because he's bored. We've been traveling for a while and hadn't had any adventures for a while. So when he saw this guy run when guards were coming yesterday, he thought something was up. Do you know him?"

Monty rubbed his chin. He knew Talia meant Hiccup, but also knew that the man meant no harm. Though the candy man did not believe Hiccup would bring any disaster and saw no reason to put the visiting man in the spotlight.

"You mean Hook Foot?" Attila asked from the bakery. He brought out a tray and overheard everything. "He's helping Hook Hand on tour."

Talia sighed; this hadn't been the first time someone thought it was Hook Foot.

"No, just some foreign-looking guy with a peg-leg. My boyfriend thinks he's suspicious. He didn't look to be a citizen of Corona."

Attila stared at Talia in silence. He looked to himself, precisely his appearance before he went back to her.

"I think you need to be more specific. There are quite a few of us citizens who don't look the part."

Talia slapped her face. She was not in the mood for this and now regretted asking questions. Attila seemed as if he knew nothing, which was disproven When Attila remembered the Viking.

"Wait, you mean that guy in the nice tunic? Yeah, I saw him. Fancy looking peg-leg too. Couldn't help admiring it a bit."

"Oh, him," Monty jutted in, no point to keep a secret. Monty figured that Talia might prove the man innocent. No good man would resist anything in his shop. "Did you ask him anything?"

"Didn't have time. We had more customers coming in. Besides, he seemed like a nice guy. He liked my pastries, how could he ever be bad?"

Talia asked more questions, which Monty and Attila answered to the best of their knowledge, and left the shop. But not before she asked if either Monty or Attila saw by chance which direction Hiccup had come from. The two had been in the shop all day, so they never saw.

* * *

A step out the door and Talia saw Justin and Varian out of breath.

"You boys seem excited. Find anything about Mr. Peg-leg?" she smugly asked. Varian and Justin looked to each other before they went back to Talia.

"You knew he'd been here?" Justin asked, unable to understand his girlfriend at the moment. He now believed Talia had great intuition but had enough pride not to say it.

"No, but when I mentioned a peg-leg. The two gentlemen inside gave me a description and told me the guy bought a couple pastries. "

Talia walked past Justin and Varian, but the knight reached for her.

"Anything else?"

Talia looked to Justin with a silent expression. Varian asked in confusion what she learned, but the knight knew better. Having traveled together for months, Justin had gained an understanding and deeper relationship with Talia. It came to a point in which the two had communicated nonverbally during their travels and fights.

"Alright, Talia. I'm sorry if I went too far with this investigation. I'm just nervous. This is my first official order from the Queen of Gabylonia, and I don't want to smear the good name of her and the Knights of Valor. Please just tell me what it is, you know."

With a smile, Talia told her friends all she got, right down to the fancy peg-leg and the search for a map. Varian took the information in and thought it meant that all this suspicion was meaningless. A map or chart indicated nothing terrible. He thought it would be the same for Justin, but the knight thought differently.

"So he's looking for something," said an obviously not convinced Justin, "What kind of map was he looking for? Where's he going?"

"Justin!" screamed both Talia and Varian.

The knight jumped back at his companion's shouts. They both looked at him with exasperation as they grabbed him by the arms and dragged him to an alley, people were watching now. His back against a wall, Justin, was confused with his friends' behavior.

"Listen, Sir Justin," Varian started, "I know you want to 'uphold the honor of your kingdom and knight dom,' but I don't think this has been going anywhere. Talia didn't hear what kind of map it was. The guy could just be heading home and got lost, for all we know. All he did was run when the guards came."

"Exactly. You have to drop this search. I don't think we're looking for a criminal. Not all adventures include finding or fighting thugs or bandits or-or anything."

There was silence between the three, as Justin contemplated their thoughts. Talia and Varian waited for a response. Justin would have to listen to them after all that. After a certain period, they got their answer.

"I know this may not seem like much, but I don't want anything to happen during the meeting."

Talia and Varian groaned before they could hear Justin finish.

"So I will say this. The sun will be setting soon. So tomorrow we resume search. If we don't find him, that's it. If we do, and nothing happens, it ends. That sound fair?"

Varian couldn't believe Justin's tenacity, but Talia knew that was good enough. On their travels, she had learned that Justin could be a knight to a fault. If a gang of bandits had been stealing from a village, Justin would not rest until every single thief was captured.

One time, the knight's chivalry got them caught in a feud between villages. No matter how many times he failed between negotiations, Justin kept doing his best to solve the fight. It took a couple of weeks, with delving into the past of the villages, but eventually, everyone got along. That did not mean Talia liked or had enjoyed the experience.

If anything, Justin was flexible, at his own pace. A nod of agreement from Talia and she left the alley. She told Varian this was good enough. So the three decided to call it a night. Varian went in the other direction, said he lived in Old Corona on the other side. Justin and Talia came along, said it's a friend's job to help one another. Varian smiled and, the three stayed at his place, where he showed them his previous experiments and adventures in his lab until they passed out.

* * *

At dawn, the three sprawled up and readied themselves for one day of searching.

"You know," Varian remarked, "the best place to look for thugs, well the thuggish, is the Snugly Duckling just outside of town.'

Justin and Talia looked at him funny, as they couldn't believe there was a place the thugs went, called the Snugly Duckling. It sounded too cute. Varian assured them that was where they should look first.

"Let me just have a letter sent to Princess Rapunzel herself. The thugs love her, though is there anyone who doesn't?" Talia tilted her head at the question. Neither she nor Justin had ever heard of a princess who hung around with thugs.

"Varian, how do you know the princess?" she asked.

Varian didn't move his eyes from the letter, but he realized he never told the two how he met Rapunzel in the beginning.

"Well, funny story. A few months after The Lost Princess was returned, Rapunzel wanted to know more about Corona. Eventually, she heard of a wizard, who is actually an alchemist. I am a man of science, not magic."

Justin and Talia grinned at Varian's remark.

"So after hearing of my talent, She and Cass arrived. She really liked my inventions. When she came, I was working on a project. Large containers of chemicals that would boil water and give everyone in the village hot water. IT would shake the ground, and I said nothing of it cause it was a surprise. For my village."

At that, the knight and warrior woman had given Varian a look of shock and hesitation.

"Don't worry, when Flynn Ri-I mean Eugene came, he kinda convinced me to show them. We managed to get half of the situation under control. The other half, not so much. Since then, Rapunzel offered to help me from time to time. She is fascinated by how alchemy could help others."

"And your dad?" Talia asked.

Varian did not want to answer that question, so he changed the subject. He reminded the two they have someone to find. As they walked to the Snugly Duckling, Varian found a royal messenger to take his letter to Rapunzel. It had been a good idea for the princess as she wanted to help her people; however, she could.

Upon arrival at their destination, the three entered the "cozy" little place. When Varian opened the door, Justin and Talia had sword readied in case of anything. The patrons of the pub just stared at them before going back to business as if it was normal. Justin and Talia sheathed their swords and took a seat along with Varian.

"Hey, Lance. How are you?" Varian said trying to be casual, while at the same time, wanting to impress his friends.

"Varian," Lance, the bartender, and chef, noticed the alchemist and his friends, "Don't think I see you here much. New friends?"

"Yeah. This is Sir Justin and his companion Talia. They're here for the Grand Kingdom Meeting."

"Well then come on in. I would've spruced the place up a bit, but we didn't think anyone would come here," Lance commented. It surprised everyone, as no one believed visiting people would be at the Snugly Duckling. Neither Lance nor any of the patrons had anything to say.

"Well, we were just in the neighborhood and were looking for a friend of ours. Have you seen him? He had a peg leg and is not Hook Foot." Talia interrupted Lance with that last comment. She did not want to hear the name Hook Foot anymore. "He had brown hair with some braids, tall but a bit lanky. That help?"

Everyone in the pub looked at each other, then shrugged. No one had seen anyone like that. Lance brought out lunch and suggest they stay. Everyone agreed to that idea, as none of them had brought anything to eat. With no clues, they had to either think about their next move or go back to Corona and enjoy the festivities. However, their next step came to them when the door swung open.

* * *

Hiccup had been hungry since morning. The Viking camped in the woods next to Toothless for the night. The dragon, who had adapted well, foraged for food just fine. He found a river, but the dragon's appetite had scared much fish away, and barely left any for Hiccup to catch. The Viking lamented how he managed to have a spare set of clothes, but nothing else for travel, and ran out of food. He grumbled that it must be the work of Loki, the god of mischief. The Viking decided it was best to head back to Corona and find somewhere he could get some food without drawing attention.

As he headed over, the scent of cooked food caught his attention and saw a pub next to a tree. Or the tree was part of the pub. Either way, Hiccup was too hungry to care. So the Viking went back, put Inferno and couple capsules of Zippleback gas in a bag on his side, in case of trouble, and decided it was time for some breakfast.

As he walked in, everyone inside stopped to stare at him for a moment. Justin had just picked up his food before he dropped it as he saw Hiccup take a seat next to Varian. The young alchemist did his best to discreetly not be seen, as the unsuspected suspect ordered some food.

"Hey, do I know you?" Hiccup asked. Despite the fact that he saw Varian last night, Hiccup was too groggy to remember.

Discreetly not being seen was not a strength for Varian. So the boy had to play where he did not have weaknesses, presentation.

"No, no, I don't believe so. You- you must be mistaking me for someone else."

Hiccup took a closer look before he remembered what Varian didn't.

"No, I know you. You're the guy from the stage yesterday."

Varian displayed his latest idea yesterday. The boy mentally cursed himself for forgetting that one detail. That one crucial detail.

"No, you have to wrong alchemist. It was the other guy."

"So your name is not Varian?" whatever tactic the alchemist would employ, failed. Not only was the fact that he showed off yesterday forgotten, but another factor was

missing from his mind.

"Pretty sure his name is Varian. I called him that when he came in."

No one but Varian, Justin, and Talia knew why they were looking for the Viking. However, no one seemed to link Hiccup with the description Talia gave Lance, Hiccup did look a bit like them.

Unbeknownst to the Viking, and the patrons, Justin motioned Talia to cover the door, before anything might happen. Or before Hiccup resumed talking.

Hiccup ordered his meal and looked to the boy. Varian had kept his face covered and stared down awkwardly. The Viking had seen this behavior before. He believed to know what happened afterward.

"Let me guess. After the explosion, dad wasn't happy?" Hiccup asked. Varian didn't say anything but now looked the Viking in the eye. That gave it away. "Been there before. Used to make whatever came to mind trying to impress everyone back home."

That caught Varian's attention, along with Justin's.

"Of course they would fail, or I'd get in trouble. I even once caused more damage that was already there. Then dad would storm in and bring me home. Sometime he would have the attention of the entire village. With his tone, it wasn't hard for me to imagine that he considered me an embarrassment at the time."

Everything Hiccup had been talking about was how Varian felt a lot of the times, with his father. All the boy wanted was his father to be proud of him. So hearing words that described a part of his life piqued his interests, but Varian never thought that someone else would have lived a similar experience. The boy felt terrible now. He now believed that Hiccup wasn't a person of ill intent, but someone misunderstood, or in need of help.

"Do you need help?" Varian spoke to Hiccup directly now, "Who'd you get in trouble with?"

"What?" Hiccup could only respond in confusion. Varian believed the Viking, he did. But with everything Varian and Justin had talked about with Talia, another thought came to mind.

"I mean you said you caused damage, right? So one thing leads to another and now you're a fugitive. Right?"

"I'm sorry, what!?" Hiccup exclaimed, "Why would you think that? I'm not a fugitive."

"So why did you run away yesterday when the guards came?" Justin's turn to talk, while the patrons and Lance gasped in shock, "No man would run from the guards unless he was hiding something. Especially from an explosion with people of royal blood in the crowd during the Grand Kingdom Meeting."

Hiccup stood up, now realizing what was happening and what could happen. The man wanted, no needed, this misunderstanding cleared. The Viking chief had to return home and help his people. Times were not always peaceful in the archipelago.

"Look, I believe you're don't know what going on. So how about I explain?"

"Fine then," Justin had always been a man of honor. Hiccup could explain himself.

"Look, as you can see, I'm not from around here. I got lost in a storm and have been looking for a map to find my way home. Any map I have does not charter this area. I'm not on the run, I just don't know where I am."

Sir Justin stared at Hiccup. The story made sense, but some facts did not fit in with the story. Varian moved to behind the counter for safety.

"Where do you live? There have been no sights of storms for weeks here. You must've traveled very far."

"I traveled by boat," Hiccup lied, doing everything he can to avoid a conflict. "The storm was out at sea. Look, just give me a map. And you won't see me again."

"From the sea? What were you doing? Why are you out here? It seems far from any port. You must have the proper papers, right?"

This time Talia asked the questions. Hiccup was now running out of answers. And Sir Justin had run out of patience.

"I'm afraid I must take you in for questioning."

Hiccup took a stance and readied himself. He had been a Viking all his life and was ready for a fight as a last resort. Justin saw this and figured it wouldn't go any other way.

"So it's come to this then."

"We don't have to do this. Just let me go, and, like I said, you won't see me again."

"I can't do that. But I will grant you this. If you beat me, you may go. I win, you shall come with me." Sir Justin may not be the most experienced fighter, but the knight believed he could win.

As Justin said, it came to this. Hiccup did not come for a fight, but now he had to win. Justin called for Talia to throw her sword at Hiccup's foot, but the Viking didn't touch, to the confusion of everyone here.

"I will not fight an unarmed man," Sir Justin proclaimed.

"Tell you what. Here are some additional terms. I arm myself, you do the same. Sound good?"

Sir Justin nodded, and the fight began. Justin charged forward, trying to catch Hiccup by surprise. But the Viking waited, turned to the side, and dodged the knight. Having fought dragon hunters gave the Viking more experience. Hiccup went to punch his opponent, but Justin caught the fist and used it to throw Hiccup over his shoulder. Justin knew how to fight from his teachers. Crashed onto the bar, Hiccup rolled off, got up, and proceeded to charge Justin. The knight threw a punch, but the Viking ducked under and tackled him to the ground, only to be flipped off. Getting up, Justin and Hiccup stare at each other down.

"You fight well. I've never fought someone like you before." Justin complimented.

"I could say the same to you." Hiccup wasn't about to go down. "Though I have fought worse."

"And I've trained with the Knights of Valor. The best knights in the lands. I've beaten bandits, mercenaries, rogue knights, and dragons."

"What did you say?" Hiccup asked. He did not like where this was going, "Dragons? Here?"

"Well, kinda. You see, a knight has trials to complete. It's common for a knight to defend against raging dragons. But really-"

That was enough for Hiccup, who walked to the sword. Now that he heard of dragons living in this area, and of knights who fight them. The Viking Chief believed he had to end this. He couldn't stand the thought of people still using dragons for trials. They weren't monsters but beautiful creatures. Justin knew what was unfolding and pulled out his sword. Before anything, Hiccup turned to Justin.

"What's your name?"

"Sir Justin knight of Gabylonia. Who are you?"

Hiccup pulled out Inferno. The blade was still retracted into the hilt.

"Hiccup"

Everyone stared once they heard his name. Justin didn't know what to say, while Talia snickered quietly. Varian remained silent. Lance broke the silence when he laughed for a bit.

"I'm sorry. But did you say, your name is Hiccup? That's adorable," commented Lance with a tear in his eye.

Hiccup ignored them and activated Inferno. The blade extended as fire spewed out and covered it. Anyone in doubt now stared in awe and fear.

"Nevermind," said Lance as he ducked back behind the counter.

Justin looked onward, ready to fight.

"I have so many questions after this."

With that, the two resumed their duel and crossed blades. The flames of Inferno danced close to Justin's face. This gave Hiccup the advantage as the knight couldn't face him properly. With a push, Hiccup gained some distance, allowing him to close in however he pleased. Hiccup attacked from the right. Justin parried with a thrust, which forced the Viking to duck and roll behind the knight who protected himself from being rushed. The knight turned around to continue the fight. However, Hiccup did not get up but threw his legs at Justin's. The knight tripped and saw the Viking, who held Inferno, pointed at his throat.

"I won."

Or so he thought. Inferno was pointed at the knight but not close enough. Justin barrel rolled to the side, deflecting the flaming blade with his armor. As he got up, a thrust was aimed at Hiccup. It missed but sliced the bag that held Inferno, which scattered its contents across the pub.

"A knight must fight honorably, but be prepared for trickery."

Hiccup grinned with respect, and the two resumed their fight once more with locked blades.

While Hiccup and Sir Justin were preoccupied with their duel, Varian couldn't help but notice the capsules that rolled out of the bag. He crawled from behind the bar and found his way to the tablet and brought one back.

"Uh Varian," Lance said in concern, "I know you get curious and everything, but there's a fight going on."

"So why aren't you stopping it?" Varian asked. Lance just shrugged in response.

"They want to fight one on one, let them. Pub rules. I'm here cause of the flaming sword. Where did he get that?"

"I know it awesome," Varian comments, not really paying attention to the fight. The alchemist was more concern with the capsule. "Besides, whatever's in here must be how he got the flames on it. If I could just figure out how this open. Ah, ha!"

Varian cracked the container, leaking out green gas inside. At sight, Lance freaked out and grabbed the capsule before throwing it at the door. However, he missed and hit the wall. A trail of gas was left as the pellet bounced around, and drew the attention of the duelists. Talia stared in fear as the gas surrounded Hiccup and Justin.

The second Hiccup noticed the gas, he retracted Inferno. The flames could set it off.

"We have to get out of here!" he exclaimed as Justin nodded in agreement.

Elsewhere, Rapunzel, Eugene, and Cassandra headed over to the Snugly Duckling. Rapunzel received Varian's letter and excused herself and brought her husband and best friend with her. This meant that they skipped out of the rest of the first debate of the Grand Council Meeting.

They wouldn't miss much. It was mostly of the various kings, queens, and other diplomats who argued whether they should believe that magic exists. Rapunzel couldn't get a word in, but Queen Elsa offered proof and conjured a snowflake out of thin air, but some royals called it fake or gave an alternative of what she did.

Anna and Merida joined the three, not wanting anything with the debate at the moment. Anna was there mostly to blow off steam after the comments about her sister, she had to be escorted out. Merida simply didn't want to deal with "googly" idiots who couldn't believe in magic.

"I wonder what Varian had to show? It didn't sound like another invention. And I don't think he goes to the Snugly Duckling."

Rapunzel had done her best to hide it, but she was worried about her friend. The lettered was telling her of someone who left as the guards came to the stage yesterday. Varian also stated that he was in the company of Sir Justin and his companion Talia.

"I didn't think he even knew where it is," Eugene added in his cents, "Cassandra, are you sure the sword, shield, and sling are necessary?"

Cassandra was in light armor with said equipment and a bag of ammo, to the bafflement of others not named Rapunzel.

"Well, Prince Eugene, we are walking to where every ruffian and thief likes to hang out with three royals and no guards. What do you think?"

Anna and Merida looked around at Cassandra's words and realized she had been right. He then realized the handmaiden left him out when she counted the royals. There were no royal guards around them. Merida took advantage of this and took off the circlet and hood on her head. Her wild, red hair flipped around, free of its restrictions.

"Ah finally," Merida exclaimed, "ye have no idea hoo long A've been wanting to do that."

"We really don't," Eugene quietly commented. His wife heard and promptly elbowed him in the ribs before she walked closer to Merida.

"You don't have to try so hard to make a good impression. Most of the thugs at the Snugly Duckling were like till Eugene and I paid them a visit."

"Yeah, and by 'pay them a visit,' Blondie here means she got them to break into song and dance."

Anna and Merida stared at Rapunzel before they broke into laughter. They found the idea of tough-looking criminals doing a song and dance hilarious.

"Is that is?" Anna asked with an extended arm pointed at the pub.

"Yep, now let's see what Varian wanted."

At Rapunzel's words, the door was kicked open, as were the windows and green gas poured from the building.

"Everybody out now!" Screamed Hiccup as everyone exited whichever way they could. Inside the pub, the Zippleback gas found its way to the fireplace in the back, and when that happened...

BOOM! Another explosion happened. Two days in a row. Everyone made it out ok, but some were dazed while the royals and Cassandra were stunned. Hiccup tried to escape, but Sir Justin saw him and blocked his path, with sword in hand.

"Our fight is not over yet."

Hiccup drew out Inferno. He needed this fight to be over quick, no doubt that the explosion will draw unwanted attention. The Viking charged at Justin, only for a metal ball to hit him in the face. Knocked down onto the ground, Hiccup could make out Toothless in the forest, attracted by the noise. All eyes were on the Viking as Cassandra loaded another ball into the sling, ready to knock out Hiccup. Sir Justin would not have this and stood in the line of fire.

"I challenged this man to a duel. Do not interfere."

While eyes were now on Cassandra and Justin, Hiccup silently signaled for Toothless to hide. If he was seen, the dragon could only cause more trouble than there already is. Begrudgingly, Toothless went back into the forest. The Viking would have to figure something out or risk the exposure of dragons up north.

The next thing that happened, Cassandra sling-ed the next ball. Only this time, she put enough force behind to knock Justin over and hit Hiccup with the knight, knocking the Viking unconscious. Sir Justin looked to the handmaiden/bodyguard, angry at her inhonorable action.

"Yeah, maybe if it were just me, I'd be fine letting you two fight. But a second explosion with royalty nearby? No, you don't get to continue."

"Enough," Rapunzel ordered, "We can talk more about this later. Right now, I want to know what is going on. Where's Varian?"

"Rapunzel," Varian ran over to his friends, "Sorry about dragging you to another explosion accidentally but-"

"Varian, it's ok, but what happened?"

Varian explained to the others how Justin saw Hiccup leave when the guards came to the stage yesterday. He went on and said about how they came here and the events that transpired. Meanwhile, Cassandra, to the ire of Justin, tied Hiccup's hands together and removed his peg-leg

, before she picked up Inferno. The lady-in-waiting managed to retract the blade as Talia put out any fires it started on the ground.

"I'm keeping this," she commented. Justin wanted to stop her, but she had been right. With royal nearby, it was foolish to allow the fight to go on as anyone could be harmed by accident.

Varian finished the story. All that was left was to await, Rapunzel's orders. They were still in Corona and as such, her call. After a while, Rapunzel told them to take Hiccup in for questioning. If this were just a misunderstanding, then he would go, but if Hiccup really were a fugitive, they would lock him up.

Sir Justin offered the bring Hiccup in, said it was the least he could do. Talia helped her companion as she grabbed the other end.

**Things don't look so well for Hiccup. What will happen next? wait till the next chapter to find out. Until then, leave a review if you want and have a nice day.**


	5. Aftermath & Politics

**Hello again. Welcome to another chapter of A Tangled Gathering. I hope you enjoy. ****Disclaimer: I own nothing. ****Dreamworks owns How to Train Your Dragon. Disney owns Tangled, Frozen, Sword in the Stone, and Brave. Sony Pictures Entertainment and Entertainment One distributed Justin and the Knights of Valor, but Kandor Graphics created it, so they own it.**

**Thanks for the reviews **

**DragonKing94: hope this chapter was worth the wait.**

**Equilibrium -Grey: sadly, Varian won't be able to talk to Hiccup properly for a while.**

"You think he's alright?"

"No clue, Cass hit you hard enough to hit him."

Hiccup woke to the sound of voices. Voices he recognized from the Snugly Duckling.

"He's coming to."

The Viking got up to view his surroundings. It was apparent he was in a cell. Stone walls surrounded Hiccup save for the iron bars in the front and a small window in the back. Two wooden beds were suspended to the wall by chains. Justin and Varian stood at the bars; they shared an expression of regret. Hiccup got up from one of the wooden beds to walk to them, unaware of something missing.

"Sir Hiccup, wait!"

Hiccup didn't realize he was missing his peg-leg till he fell to the ground. He climbed the wall to get up and walked to the front. Justin sent Varian to alert Rapunzel. The young alchemist wanted to stay, but the knight wouldn't have it. With an angry "humph," the boy left.

"Well, I take it you won?" Hiccup said to Sir Justin, who only looked towards the ground.

"My apologies, Sir Hiccup-"

"Just Hiccup."

"Lady Cassandra knocked you out. Princess Rapunzel and other princesses were around. She didn't want them hurt. She managed to use me to knock you out."

The Viking asked what the princesses were doing so far out. Sir Justin explained how Varian had contacted Princess Rapunzel along with the events that lead up to their fight. Hiccup was surprised to hear that the boy was friends with the princess. Doors opened in the distance as royalty and guards walked over.

"Rapunzel, I understand your concern, but two explosions in two days is enough to cause a wish for extra security."

"Dad, come on. He left the Snugly Duckling with the others. I don't think he blew it up."

Upon their arrival, Justin bowed as he made way for the figures of Rapunzel, Eugene, Fredric, Fergus, and Elsa. They all went up to the cell and looked at Hiccup, who backed away against the wall. Reactions were different. Rapunzel and Eugene wondered if he was alright; they both knew how strong Cass had proven herself. King Fredric and King Fergus eyed the Viking quizzically, Fergus even more so recognizing the clothing style. Elsa just stared, right into Hiccup's eyes. Silently. It was like they saw the newest animal at the zoo. Everyone was silent; Hiccup decided to break it.

"So, I take it, you must visit everyone here in prison, or is it just me?"

Everyone remained silent. No one expected a response like that.

"So it's just me. Well then, let's get started. My name is Hiccup. I only knew Sir Justin and Varian, who now just left, so who are you?"

"Hiccup?" Fergus spoke, "Now what kinda tumshie names their kin that?"Fergus laughed heartily.

"And I thought my name was bad," commented Eugene, who earned a glare from his wife. Being locked up Hiccup could handle, but the ridicule was too much.

"Hey," Rapunzel exclaimed, "maybe where he's from, Hiccup must be a culture thing. Right? By the way, I'm the Princess of Corona, Rapunzel. This is my father King Frdric. My husband Eugene. Nice to meet you Hiccup."

Hiccup continued to lean on the wall. The name was for runts in Viking culture. It was not common but also not the best name; Vikings were not supposed to be runts, but Hiccup proved to show that it did not make the person. King Fergus calmed his laughter or lowed his voice for a moment.

"Sorry, lass, but the only people who use names that bad are Vikings. And this wee one is too small to be a Viking."

That hurt. Hiccup may not have always looked the part, but he still was a Viking through and through. Even without an axe or mace.

"Well, I guess you don't know Vikings, then do you? Strange, laughing person whom I've never met before."

"I am King Fergus of the Kingdom of Dunbroch. O'course if yoo're a Viking then ye must 'ave heard of us."

"I'll have to check next time I'm home."

All that response did was have King Fergus laugh louder. He couldn't believe what he heard. Vikings were as huge as him, incredibly fierce too. Some of the other prisoners were frightened when they heard it echoing the cells. Feeling if this was going nowhere, Rapunzel decided to ask the questions.

"So, you're a Viking? If so, what were you doing so far away from home?"

Rapunzel locked eyes with Hiccup. She held no ill will or evil intent, which Hiccup recognized. The princess may not have wanted him dead, but everyone else didn't say otherwise. The Viking was still in a cell, and the situation was disadvantageous. Eugene had kept quiet, but stood near Rapunzel, unable to ultimately side with his wife. The two kings eyed Hiccup suspiciously, unable to believe the man to be a Viking. Elsa just stared at him, said nothing, and creeped out the Viking. It took everything to ignore her. Hiccup had no choice but to trust Rapunzel for the moment.

"Alright. Yes, I am a Viking. I was traveling out at sea when a storm came and separated me from my friends. I have no clue where I am. I have traveled from town to town for days. I just want to go home."

Rapunzel took in Hiccup's confession. King Fredric was shocked at the predicament. He believed Vikings to be gone, but King Fergus knew better. Still, the Celtic king laughed at Hiccup's words, stated that Viking his size is a "wee toothpick."

"So what kind of guy travels with a flaming sword?" Eugene questioned. King Fergus stopped his laughter at the words "flaming sword." Hiccup smirked as Fergus looked to him with some intrigue, but mainly confusion. The Highlander grumbled that the sword sounded "Un-Viking like."

"You mean Inferno? Well, I won't tell you how it works, but let me ask you this. Would it be a smart idea for a Viking to travel unarmed? Last I checked, Viking will fight with anyone, even with friends." Hiccup backed himself down to the bed before resuming. The Viking had to choose his words carefully. He didn't want anything revealed. "If you ask me a flaming sword sounds like a good idea, especially since the big guy here doesn't think I'm a Viking."

That made sense, or should have made enough of it. No one could argue about traveling in dangerous waters unarmed. It seemed to work as the royals had looked to one another in agreement. Well, everyone except Elsa. Rapunzel walked to the cell, against protests from her father and husband, and rested her head on the bars.

"I'd listen to your father. I am a Viking." Hiccup sad from the bed.

"But you won't hurt me. Viking or not, you just want to go home. If you wanted to cause trouble or hurt anyone, you would've done so. Besides, a one-legged Viking wouldn't be able to much from the bed."

Hiccup was now curious about Rapunzel. For the first time, someone did not suspect him of anything. But the princess figured out he couldn't do anything from the bed.

"I take it no one has helped you get home?" Hiccup nodded. "Listen, we just wanted some answers. You were around explosions when royalty was in the crowd. It's the Grand Kingdom Meeting, and this has made everyone jumpy. But I promise no harm will come to you if we can cooperate."

Hiccup looked to the princess, sent a smile, and nodded. They were getting somewhere, But Hiccup still had to get out. Toothless would come for him eventually. He just had to find out how, but first.

"Does this mean I can have my leg back?"

"I believe we can reach an arrangement," King Fredric said. Rapunzel smiled at her father but then noticed Elsa hadn't taken her eyes off of Hiccup since she got here. Something Hiccup was still doing his best to ignore.

"Uh Elsa, how long are you going to stare? Hiccup didn't mean for the explosion."

"It's fine," Hiccup said, "Odin knows I've been through worse. Where I come from, it snows for nine months and hails the other three. Try living there."

At his words, Elsa conjured a snow pile similar to the one she buried Eugene in yesterday. Only this one filled up half the cell and was filling out through the bars. Elsa had been mad but not like this. At what, one could guess at the Viking. For what? No one could tell. Hiccup stuck his head out of the pile.

"Odin's Ghost! Where did this snow come from?"

Hiccup didn't know about Elsa's powers, at least until he saw that everyone was staring her sporting a smile.

"How's that?" Elsa finally spoke. "I hope this makes you feel at home."

At that, Fergus and Fredric left the dungeon with some of the guards. The king of Corona thought he should see that Hiccup is released as early as possible. He doubted the snow would be the only issue if left alone. A thought the guards agreed on.

Hiccup was flabbergast. The Viking had seen a colossal dragon that spewed ice, but never a woman who could summon it. He now held some unease about the queen. But he wasn't going to let her know that.

"Well then, thank you for your hospitality Elsa," Hiccup said dryly, "I've been gone for soo long, I'd forgotten about the snow."

While it was a decent idea not to show fear, Hiccup learned to taunt the queen, or in this case, give a witty remark, was a stupid idea. Elsa decided since a little wasn't enough, she filled the entire cell. Hiccup had his head against the bars. The snow queen walked away, happy at her little prank. For the rest of the day, the Viking would have to dig around before he could get comfortable, or at least wait till the snow melted.

Hiccup sighed at his predicament as Rapunzel and Eugene followed Elsa with the rest of the guards. The princess would send someone over later to help with the snow.

* * *

Within the evening at the Banquet Room, gossip had filled the room. The topic was the explosions that happened. Some nobility wondered how the King and Queen would handle it. The eyes of nobles of all ranks were on them. To say King Fredric was nervous, understated his state of mind. He barely touched his food. Arianna had focused on making sure her husband would be alright. They both knew that this wasn't a common occurrence, but first impressions are a lot to people. Especially with everyone riled up about magic and the creatures considered to be magical. Princess Rapunzel and Prince Eugene could hear comments here and there about rumors of magical beings and events.

"I heard of something called a genie. You find it, and it will grant you three wishes."

"Ever heard of Griffins? They're half-lion and half-eagle. And they rule the land and sky."

"Last year, my father held a ball for my birthday, and my long-dead ancestors came to the party."

Some of them seemed more like people telling tall tales, but no one denied the existence of magic. When she arrived, Queen Elsa saw some of the nobles gave her looks of inquisitiveness, and not because of her beauty. The same happened with Anna and Merida, though the Celtic princess might have drawn attention because of her wild hair.

Ever since the Snugly Duckling, Rapunzel convinced Merida that she didn't have to wear the hood. So when she appeared in her dress, circlet, and free hair, she turned some heads as well. She quickly found her way to Rapunzel and Eugene, not wanting to be around nobility that would flirt or subtly insult her culture. DunBroch was considered "low-brow," and the Celtic princess had seen a fair share of sneering and snickering from others.

Merida greeted the Coronian royal couple, who welcomed back, happy to have found friends.

"Ah take it thes is hoo it'll be every night?"

"Can't say, I've never been to one before. I was kidnapped and held in a tower for eighteen years. And Eugene was a thief before we met. But this is more casual than most balls. There are free tables to sit at and no announcement when you enter."

"Reet," Merida had trouble processing most of that and did not know what to say. "Weel, do ya know anyain who does?"

"We could ask my cousins. They may know."

Elsa and Anna were busy ignoring the rumors they heard of the "Snow Queen." Well, that and they enjoyed the food. Anna had a couple of plates covered in various chocolates, which she shared with her sister. When they heard the sound of sliding chairs, they were delighted to see familiar faces instead of flirting nobles.

"Want some company?" asked Rapunzel. Eugene had already pulled out a chair for her.

"As long you don't flirt or ask for snow," said Elsa with a smirk. Anna waved hello with a mouth full of chocolate. Merida gave a small wave and hoped the Arendelle sisters wouldn't mind her company. Anna recognized her from before and changed seats next to her.

"Hey."

"Hi," Anna waved, "Merida, right? We both left the meeting early and joined Rapunzel, going to the Snuggly Duckling. We didn't get to talk much after the explosion. How crazy was that?" Elsa sat up straight when she heard the term "explosion." Rapunzel asked if she was alright, but received no answer.

"Ah wouldn't call it crazy, but t'was something. By th' way, yoo wouldn't know anything abit these Grand Kingdom Meetings?"

Anna looked embarrassed and looked at her sister. Elsa gave a similar expression.

"Sorry, But neither Elsa nor I have been to one of these. Though it hasn't been as fun as I thought, it seems more like an informal ball. Why is that?"

"Oh that," Rapunzel spoke up, sheepishly, "Yeah, since there were two explosions in two days, and everyone is now a little jumpy at the mention of

magic. So we decided that something a bit informal would help relieve the tension."

"Would you say from the debate or the groups that everyone is not tense?" Elsa, now talking, gestured to around the room. The nobility of each kingdom had kept to themselves. Some would go to another group, but only of a close ally. Everyone was sneaking peeks at one another, and the banquet room seemed to be at a hushed volume.

Some several royals and nobles talked and played politics. Some even talked about marriage and possible alliances. Out of the corner of Elsa's eyes, she could see an old familiar face spoke with a strange man, and he wasn't the only one. Around the room, Elsa would see even kings and queens talk to him. At every conversation, the man didn't seem to be treated less or more and seemed to enthrall his company. Elsa wasn't the only person to notice. Rapunzel eventually saw the man as he walked across the room and towards her parents.

"Is that who I think it is?" the princess of Corona thought out loud. Eugene got curious and looked in the same direction.

"Blondie. Honey," he said, "I don't think we know that man. I hope we don't. Nobody from our pasts is nice except your parents."

Now everyone at the table wanted to know what Rapunzel was thinking. No one had a chance to ask as Corona's princess pardoned herself and dragged her husband along.

Merida asked if Rapunzel did that a lot, which Anna and Elsa shrugged.

Cassandra, who attended as a royal guard, saw her friends traversed the crowds toward the king and queen. She decided to follow them in case of the worst when the strange man was sighted near.

The King of Corona greeted his daughter and son-in-law when they arrived.

"Rapunzel, there you are. This gentleman has traveled far from his home in search of rare and magical creatures. He recently came back from a venture into the Northern waters. I believed you wanted to see him."

As the man turned to the princess, Rapunzel could see his features more clearly. He had a lean build that wore a red overcoat that reached down to his knees with brass patterns. The man had looked to be in his late fifties with black hair and a black beard that was in three parts.

"You must be Princess Rapunzel," the man said as he bowed, "Pleasure to meet you."

"Strange man," Merida commented from the table, "He's nae from aroond here. Or any of th' other kingdoms. A've ne'er seen a man like him before."

Merida, Anna, and Elsa had been watching Rapunzel talk to the man. They all agreed he was not from around, but wondered how he navigated in the room with respect from the other dignitaries. They saw him bow at Rapunzel, who returned the gesture. The two went on to talk; the princess seemed invested in the conversation while her husband watched the man. Rapunzel was giddy as she smiled and spoke to the stranger. The man was stoic, rarely said a word, and managed to handle the princess well. After a while, the man gave a wary face and walked away, to the confusion of the royal couple.

"What was all that about?" Anna asked as she took another piece of chocolate off her plate.

Moments later, Rapunzel and Eugene had returned to the table. Rapunzel held a confused face. She searched for the man again, only to lose sight of him. The princess didn't notice Cassandra was following the stranger or trying to, at least.

"So who's the old man?" Anna asked.

"His name is Chagatai Khan," Eugene answered instead, "And he some explorer who just came from an expedition up North. Strange didn't even begin to describe him. He talked about having made a tremendous discovery that he'll share later in the week. One that will 'change the world.' I'm sure that doesn't sound ominous. I wonder why the Queen of Ingvarr brought him."

Everyone looked at Rapunzel, who stared at nothing but her plate. With the emotions she projected, they all decided to wait until the Princess of Corona had her thoughts in order, and went back to eating.

Within seconds, however, Rapunzel realized what she heard Eugene said and spoke out with extreme glee, to the surprise of everyone. Elsa was so shocked she frosted the table, to no one's notice luckily.

"He says that there is this long lost magical creature that has been extinct for centuries and that he found a man who is trying to bring them back into the world. Doesn't that sound exciting?"

After everyone, including Eugene, salvaged themselves from the unexpected outburst, they then calmed down Rapunzel, who noticed what she did.

"Sorry. It just sounds so exciting. What kind of creature do you think Mr. Khan discovered? I mean there is something called a unicorn, and it supposed to be majestic and-"

"Rapunzel," Eugene interrupted her, "I get you're excited we all are, but something clearly didn't seem right with that guy. You should have seen the look on his face when you mentioned DunBroch."

"What about mae kingdom?" Merida did not like the sound of where things went. Eugene decided his wife would answer this.

"Nothing bad. But when I mentioned how you made a kingdom up north, the man asked if you guys ever fought Vikings. I was going to mention Hiccup, but he walked away before I could say anything."

"Vikings?" Anna asked. She looked to Merida, but she shrugged her shoulders. Elsa kept a neutral face, so no one knew what she was thinking. They looked over to the DunBroch clan and found Khan was looking at King Fergus and Queen Elinor before he left the Banquet Room. As he left, Anna and Merida realized something.

"Wait, Hiccup? That guy with the flaming sword is named Hiccup, and he's a Viking?" Anna could not believe the predicament while Merida held in her laughter at the name Hiccup.

"Yeah, that's the guy. Apparently, he just got lost and wanted a map. He may get out soon, provided Elsa doesn't fill his cell with more snow."

Eugene's words got Anna to stare at her sister. Arendelle's princess expected a small smile but saw Elsa had sported a neutral face.

"Elsa, what's wrong?"

Elsa didn't change her face and began to eat some of the chocolate on the plate.

"I think she believes Hiccup made the explosion," Cassandra appeared from behind. "She mad at him for having you close by. I think."

"Don't be ridiculous, Cass. Varian said he brought a little container of gas and that it leaked out. That's what caused the explosion."

Cassandra knew Varian lied about the gas, Elsa did as well. Varian probably tried to protect Hiccup, and Sir Justin did the same. The handmaiden, now a royal guard at the moment, believed it had to do with the fight and flaming sword.

"Come on, Elsa," Anna whined, slightly, "It's not like he meant to cause an explosion. Relax, no one would dare mess with the Snow Queen." Elsa glared at Anna's attempt to calm her. "Well that and I mean if someone did conspire, they would have to deal with all these kingdoms. I mean, look at them, they would all counter-attack at any attack or declaration of war."

Elsa still didn't calm down. Anna didn't know what to say until someone spoke up.

"Ah believe she means we're aw here together on thes," It was Princess Merida who had spoken, earning her everyone's attention. "Ah mean if ye look at mah kingdom ye'll get it."

"Get what?"

At the sound of another voice, everyone jumped and looked to see the young King Arthur on a leaned chair listening in. Now that they saw him, the king decided to join them at the table.

"Pardon my intrusion. But I don't know much of the other kingdoms. Would you mind if I join you?"

Merida figured, why not, since Arthur was already at the table. Rapunzel gestured to the seat closer to everyone. The young king thanked her as he greeted the other royals.

"Afair it was a kingdom, Dunbroch was a clan. Along wi' three other clans, DunBroch fought against invading forces. After many battles, the families united and made DunBroch mah father the king. And though our struggles hae stuck together. If someone attacks, we all barnie back. Together, we ur ne'er alone."

"That's amazing," Rapunzel said, "your entire kingdom banded together to fight off invaders."

"Pretty impressive. Right, Elsa."

At her sister's words, Queen Elsa gave a smile. Hearing the idea of unity cheered her. Anna was happy. She got to know the princess. Anyone who could make her sister happy, along with everyone else, is golded in her book.

"So, your kingdom is still young?" Arthur asked, "Very interesting. How did you receive your invitation then? I don't believe they would ask for such a new kingdom to attend."

Merida gave a confused look before she remembered, but her expression didn't change.

"That's a funny story. Ah don't know how. Neither do me maw an' dad. We jist received a letter one day 'at said we've been invited to The Grand Kingdom Meeting. An' ere we are."

The table turned silent. An unknown invitation could not be a good omen, nor a prank. Rapunzel kept to herself as she thought about the letter. Arthur was confused at Merida's statement.

"So, your kingdom was invited? These invitations, it seems, are not given to every kingdom. I mean, no one could forge it."

Everyone turned to the young king. They found no amusement in his misunderstanding.

"We have to ask who sent the invites later," Rapunzel suggested. Kingdoms selected are on a list made between the current host and a few other countries, most of the time, allies. Each invitation would then be decorated accordingly and sent out, and every letter was different from the last.

With the nobility at the ball a bit tense, Rapunzel and everyone else at the table thought it best to ask King Fredric and Queen Arianna later. If they didn't invite DunBroch, then the other chosen kingdoms had to be questioned, either in private or at the next ball. There were three held in total during the Grand Kingdom Meeting. At the beginning, middle, and end of the week.

"Well, this has been fun, but I think I could use less excitement right now," Anna said to excuse herself. She grabbed the now emptied plates of chocolate to get more.

The only ones left were: Arthur, Merida, Elsa, Rapunzel, and Eugene at the table. At until Elsa wished to speak to Rapunzel alone. At her request, the Princess of Corona and the Queen of Arendelle headed away from the eyes of their peers.

* * *

They walked from the banquet room and through the halls. Rapunzel asked Elsa where they were going but never got an answer. The queen kept walking. She only stopped to look around before resuming her pace. They went from room to hall to room and repeated the cycle.

"Elsa, what is it you want to tell me?" Rapunzel asked again. This time Elsa looked to a door where guards stood.

"What's in that room," Elsa pointed towards the door.

"That's the portrait room, where portraits of past king and queen of Corona is displayed. It's nice, but no one goes in there much."

Elsa walked towards the room. The guards saw the two royals and opened the door, allowing them access. After the door closed, Rapunzel stood with her cousin in the room with silence. She wondered why Elsa had asked to talk to her outside the Banquet Room; not to mention in a place that was more than a walk away.

"Look, Elsa, if it's the explosion. Anna never got hurt and besides-"

"I don't like how everyone is talking about magic like it's a nuisance."

Rapunzel stared at her cousin. Elsa had kept to herself for a while, only now the snow queen spoke her mind.

"After you left with Anna and Princess Merida, everyone had started to talk about magic as if it was some dangerous element. It started like a whisper that just got louder. Before long, a few kingdoms would talk about how magical creatures should be chartered, cataloged, or even chained. Some of us argued against these ideas, myself included," Elsa walked closer to Rapunzel. "I'm telling you this now, because since you once had a magical gift. And that puts you at the border. Kingdoms may look at you differently. Be prepared tomorrow."

Rapunzel took in Elsa's warning. She was stunned. After being officially welcomed as Corona's princess, Rapunzel had to learn, sometimes the hard way, that being a member of royalty had more responsibility. There were also various criminal elements whose dreams did not come true, or just had a grudge against the royal family. But those were within the walls of Corona. Now trouble from outside, which could include political problems, came into Corona. Rapunzel just heard of this.

"Is that why you wanted to talk here?" The princess asked.

"I don't know what each kingdom thinks of magic. I needed to talk to you somewhere without anyone else listening. Some of the dignitaries looked at Queen Elinor and me."

"DunBroch's queen?"

"She was turned into a bear by a witch. And with my coronation, they looked at us as examples of the harm magic can do. They may look to you the same. For what? I don't know. Be careful during the next meeting."

Elsa walked towards the door. She stopped with her hand on the handle.

"I'll wait for you outside."

The door clicked twice as it opened and closed. Rapunzel looked to the old paintings of her ancestors. She stood in the dark with her thoughts now. She did not wonder if her ancestors had these troubles. She had read up on the previous monarchs and knew the history of Corona. Eventually, Rapunzel gazed upon her portrait and wondered about the legacy she would leave. Would this be the start?

She had magical hair before Eugene cut it. So did that mean she had no magic?

But compared to Elsa, Rapunzel was now a normal princess. Though many were just the same, the princess of Corona believed because magic is the topic, then she must take a stand for the better. She didn't know how, but then a thought came to her mind.

"That could work," the princess said to herself. "though maybe I'll start tomorrow. Everyone is still tense right now."

With a plan in motion, she exited the room and joined with Elsa."

"You alright?"

"I'm fine, Elsa," Rapunzel said with a serene tone. She started walking as Elsa now followed her. "It's just a lot to take in. Now instead of problems inside Corona, I have trouble outside too. But I think we can fix them. Do you have the same troubles?"

"Well, now that I know Vikings are up north, maybe."

Rapunzel's eyes widened and stared at Elsa.

"Wait! Is that why you filled Hiccup's cell with snow?"

Elsa only smirked playfully.

"Not really, but he did talk back to the Queen of Arendelle. He needed to understand the position he was in."

"And not because of the explosion?"

"Well...maybe a little. But Vikings in jail shouldn't talk back with a witty remark."

Rapunzel and Elsa walked back to the banquet room. To the shock of both, Anna had introduced chocolate and the many varieties it came in, to Merida. The two were hitting it off quite well. Eugene remained seated at the table, mediating the two from overeating. Chocolate was good, but there was a limit. King Arthur had left the table and opted to talk to more dignitaries. Rapunzel looked around and saw that Sir Bart and Kay kept an eye on the young king. They probably did so from the start.

Rapunzel headed to the table with Elsa. The queen's words echoed in her head. She took a survey of the room and now saw kingdoms mingled with one another. She also saw Chagatai Khan, who would ping pong between groups. Other groups peered to others as Rapunzel caught the eyes of some of them stared at her table. She walked back to the table, stared back, and sat down. Any group that peaked at her table knew that she saw them and looked away.

The princess of Corona looked over to the Dunbroch Kingdom and saw the king and queen at a table by themselves. They watched and enjoyed seeing Merida having fun. Now and then, King Fergus would raise his head quickly to look around. He seemed tense. Rapunzel noticed a group of nobles who snickered amongst one another as they glared at the Celtic royalty. The princess didn't need magic to know what they were doing.

She wanted to walk over there and tell them off, but Eugene grasped her hand.

"Rapunzel? Honey? You alright?"

Rapunzel nodded quietly and decided it was best not to stir any trouble. She sat with her friends for the remainder of the ball. Tomorrow would be another day. Perhaps then Rapunzel could start her plan. There had to be more than magical spells. And there had to be a way to bring peace. She just hoped her plan could do something in the right direction.

**And we end here this chapter. I wonder who sent the invitation. You can take a guess. Also for Merida, I went to an online translator to add some Scottish dialect to her speech. If you're curious, it's called WooHoo translator. ****The next chapter may take a while as I will be busy.**** Anyway, leave a review f you like and have a Happy Holidays! And a Happy New Year! **


	6. A Dragon Master in the Sun

**Happy New Year! I hope you all have enjoyed yourselves. Heres another chapter with an announcement at the end. ****Disclaimer: I own nothing. ****Dreamworks owns How to Train Your Dragon. Disney owns Tangled, Frozen, Sword in the Stone, and Brave. Sony Pictures Entertainment and Entertainment One distributed Justin and the Knights of Valor, but Kandor Graphics created it, so they own it.**

Hiccup woke up in his cell. The snow was shoveled out with the help of Varian, Justin, and a concerned guard. The remaining snow melted. While most prisoners found the wooden bed to be uncomfortable, to Hiccup, it was a slice of home. He looked out of his cell window, the forest in view. Hiccup wondered how Toothless was handling himself. A dragon could live in the woods, Toothless proved it by his instinct shown previously. But What Sir Justin said, worried the Viking. If knights fought dragons as a test. Then Toothless would be hunted down for trials. Hiccup knew what that entailed.

Back at Berk, before Hiccup and Toothless changed things, to be a real Viking meant killing a dragon. Wild dragons were captured during their raids on Berk and placed into cages. With Toothless being a Night Fury, the rarest breed Hiccup has encountered, the Viking believed the knights would hunt him down relentlessly if seen.

At the moment, all the Viking could do was wait and think of a plan. Or at least hope they would let him out today. He did nothing wrong, except bring volatile gas to a pub where it caught fire and exploded, but it wasn't his fault the gas caused an explosion.

Hiccup internally groaned at the thought. The Viking didn't even know how the gas seeped out. He made sure the capsules couldn't break when they fell out.

"How did the gas get out?"

"Um hi," said Varian meekly from behind. Hiccup jumped up in surprise and reached for his weapon, only to remember he didn't have one on him at the moment. Varian stared back at Hiccup with his hands held up to his face.

"Sorry. Where I come from, if someone sneaks up on you, you better be armed."

"Right," Varian replied with a sheepish smile and frightened look as he put his hands down, gently. The boy did not want to know what Hiccup encountered; he decided to try and change the topic. "So, you're a Viking."

"Pretty much," Hiccup said casually. "but ask anyone else, and they'll think you're crazy. Apparently, I'm not Viking enough for some people."

Varian laughed at that remark. It made some sense to him, though he never saw any Vikings. It was evident that the alchemist was nervous. He laughed for a little too long, something Hiccup caught on. Varian didn't believe he would be able to ask what he wanted right away, so it was time to break the ice.

"So why are you here? I doubt you want to hear tales of grandeur and adventure from the land of Vikings."

"Well you see, Mr. Hiccup—"

"Just Hiccup. I told the same to Justin."

"Hiccup. I came to ask you about the sword—"

"Inferno."

"Right. You call it that, it's still a cool name. Anyway, I came to ask you what alchemic reactions cause the combustion of the blade?" Varian reached into his pocket. "I have a list of various chemicals I've experimented with that have reacted in an inflammatory manner."

The Viking took a glance at the list. He knew Varian was excited, but no one in the archipelago had any knowledge about chemicals or those on the list. Except for maybe Fishlegs, but Hiccup doubted that an alchemy book could be found on any merchant. At home, it was one part of so and so with two parts this and that. This understanding was the closest idea to alchemy.

"Varian," he said with a slightly stern tone. "Vikings don't have anything like a book of…chemicals. Or even know what that means. As for the flames, it's a secret. So I will not say how they work."

Varian understood, but that didn't mean he wasn't hurt. Being turned down was one thing, but when it's by a person of similar background, the wound can be deeper. Hiccup could see that pain in his eyes and felt bad for the boy.

"Look, I'm sorry. But I have more important things to worry about."

"Is that why you're here?"

"Good question," Cassandra said before Hiccup could respond. She turned to the alchemist. "Varian, why are you here? The dungeon is not someplace for visiting, and the guards shouldn't have let you in right now."

"Hey Cass," Varian sheepishly. "That is a good question."

"You bribed the guards again, didn't you?"

Varian could only give a small grin. To bribe a guard was easy if you knew the guard. One of them wanted special mustache wax, and being a man of science, Varian could deliver tenfold. Hiccup stared at Cassandra, not so subtly. The lady-in-waiting stopped with Varian and stared back at the captive Viking. For a moment, not a word was said as gray and green eyes were locked at each other. No matter what happened next, Varian was sure Cassandra would hit Hiccup.

"Draw a picture," the handmaiden said. "It'll last longer."

That stopped the staring, but Hiccup still looked Cassandra in the eye for a few more seconds.

"So, you're the one who knocked me out."

Cassandra showed neither regret nor shame but nodded her head. Hiccup didn't answer immediately. Cassandra put her hand on her sword, it was times like this a prisoner would cause trouble.

"I gotta say, I'm impressed," The Viking said to a surprised Cassandra. "You can't say many people can sling an iron ball hard enough to throw a knight on top of a Viking and knock him out. Well, some who is not a Viking anyway."

Cassandra stood in the dungeon hall with a stunned look on her as she gazed at the Viking. She expected an insult or witty remark, not a compliment. It wasn't until Varian coughed that Cassandra realized what she had been doing and put on a cautious expression.

"Funny," the lady in waiting snarked. Cassandra did not want anyone to know how she felt. "Now, if Mr. Comedian here can hobble out of his cell, Princess Rapunzel would like to have a word with you."

Cassandra opened the door and gestured for Hiccup to follow. It wasn't until the Viking the question pointed to his missing leg, that she realized that the peg leg had been confiscated.

"Can someone help him walk?"

Varian volunteered, but the lady-in-waiting wouldn't allow it. So, one of the prison guards came by and had Hiccup's arm around his shoulder, while the Viking leaned on him as they left the dungeon. Varian wished to join them, but Cassandra stated only Hiccup could come. Rapunzel's order.

The walk over had given Hiccup time to sight-see. The walls, halls, rooms, and windows were different than what the Viking was used too. Tapestries hung everywhere, from on the walls to above from the ceiling. Wherever he stepped, Hiccup would walk into rooms with carpets and clear glass windows. He felt some form of irony at the fact that he, a Viking, was inside a magnificent castle not on purpose and was not pillaging or attempted to. At least it seemed ironic to him, though he wasn't much of a pillager.

Eventually, the three had arrived in the gardens where King Fredric, Queen Arianna, Princess Rapunzel, and Prince Eugene were eating. Hiccup was seated at the table and surprised, no shocked, to see a plate in front of him. He looked to the royals and Cassandra, who pointed her head towards Rapunzel.

"So, how did you sleep?" Rapunzel asked Hiccup, who scanned his surroundings. The Viking believed this was the work of Loki. "Hiccup, right? Are you alright?"

Hiccup placed the plate back on the table, having checked underneath it, and looked toward Rapunzel. The king, queen, and prince in law stared at the Viking, they wondered if this was the right call.

"Sorry, but last I heard, Vikings aren't invited to a table with kings and queens. Especially if they are a prisoner. Or do you treat all your convicts like this? I seem to remember royalty visiting yesterday."

The princess blinked in confusion and decided an explanation was needed.

"Normally we would eat with our guests," Rapunzel started. "but we-I wanted a word with you without the crowd. Varian said the explosion was an experiment gone wrong. No one believes that, but I am willing to give him the benefit of the doubt, which may give you a quicker way out of the dungeon."

"I'm listening."

"Now quicker does not mean what you think."

"Does the word have a different meaning here?"

"If by different meaning, then you mean that every visiting kingdom is a little freaked out and want to make sure no one is planning anything behind their back and therefore need extra attention, then yes." Rapunzel managed to speak that line as quickly as possible, which left a stunned Viking.

"Say that again?" that was all Hiccup could manage to say.

"So, there's this meeting, The Grand Kingdom Meeting, to be precise."

"Needs a better name."

"True, but because there were two explosions in two days, everyone is a little tense."

"And?"

"And we can't just release you because you were around the second one, and we don't have absolute proof of your innocence. Well enough to quiet any paranoia."

"Ah."

"Yes."

The two were silent for a while, as each thought about what would happen. Rapunzel knew nothing of Toothless. Hiccup was worried for his friend, as the dragon would eventually try to break the Viking out. The consequences alone, should Toothless be caught, could create havoc and chaos. Images of dragons being hunted by foreign forces flooded the Viking's mind. He remembered how the days were, and a bigger war would be waged if that happened.

Rapunzel realized her help did not mean much as Hiccup held his hand to his chin. He said not a word, but the silence was uncomfortable, save for the sound of Eugene, who ate quietly. The princess coughed loudly and snapped Hiccup out of his thoughts.

"Look I understand you're tired, and probably hungry so—"

"How long would being released quickly take?"

Rapunzel calculated everything in her head. She counted her fingers and everything, but the only answer she could give was shrug.

As he scanned the table, Hiccup saw faces that didn't really show any concrete number. Till he locked eyes with the king. King Fredric and the Viking stared at one another as the guards took notice.

"So, Viking's still exist, huh?" Queen Arianna asked, curious about their "guest."

Hiccup gave the queen a funny look. Funny as in, he was still confused, but wary and didn't know if he should really answer that question. But he would just stay in that cell for gods know how long. So…

"What do you mean still exist? We've been alive for generations. At home, Vikings have settled there for over 300 years. We've always existed."

"Yes, and you've pillaged our lands before," The king now spoke. His eyes did not move from Hiccup. "Incidentally, some of the kingdoms haven't had Viking raids for over 300 years. I wonder why."

This was not good. The king was now curious about the lands in the north. Hiccup did not want an expedition up there. For all he knew, they could discover the dragons. He already had enemies back home. Other nations coming and seizing land could spell another war, or worse.

Hiccup frantically searched his mind for an idea to distract the king. He did his best to show no emotion. In his state of panic, some fatherly advice came to mind.

"Well, as my dad would say, 'Hiccup, we Viking would always have something to fight about. If we're not fighting someone, we're fighting each other.' So I guess the Vikings back then found something to fight amongst each other to fight."

King Fredric broke his gaze at Hiccup. It made sense that violent warriors, as the king and queen believed, would eventually battle one another. No one could disprove that theory. Even the queen and prince bought it as the guards and Cassandra nodded their heads.

"So, do Viking fight with anyone? What if they don't have weapons?" asked an intrigued Rapunzel.

"Honestly, they just grab whatever is closest and fight. In fact, last time that happened, Bucket and Mulch slapped each other with Sturgeons, couldn't find their bludgeons."

Hiccup blinked at his response, along with the rest, but he did so out of surprise. How was it he had causally describing life back home with a princess, who he practically met yesterday? This scared Hiccup as he didn't know what to make of her, as she seemed to bypass his defenses.

Rapunzel was unaware of how she was scaring the Viking, but Cassandra and Eugene took note of her effect. The prince-in-law decided to try some investigating of his own.

"You know, Rapunzel here has this uncanny ability to bring out the best in others and talk to them. It's almost…magical. She's even turned a lot of convicts around. Well, the ones in Corona anyway. If you won't talk to us about what you're doing here, you'll talk to her."

Cassandra smirked at the ex-thief before she gazed at the Viking; they believed Hiccup might be more cooperative now. The princess glared at her companions.

"Ignore them, "Rapunzel signaled for someone to bring Hiccup some food, "How about some food. You gotta be hungry by now and—"

"I'm not hungry," the Viking said in a low tone.

Everyone looked surprised at the response. The king and guards saw this an ungrateful action. The queen and Eugene didn't know what to make of his words, while Rapunzel was confused entirely.

"I appreciate your hospitality."

Cassandra and the guards gave him an angry look in disbelief.

"I am. But I have been telling the truth when I told you I am lost. There is no other reason why I am here. I had nothing to do with the explosions. And all I want is to return home. I understand it will take some time, and I will wait in the cell for now."

Hiccup wanted to get out as quickly as he could, but it seemed to him that the gods had another idea in mind.

The princess was silent and glum as the king called for the guards to escort Hiccup back to the cell. Before the voicing got up, Rapunzel halted them.

"Hold on. I have one last thing for you," the princess got up as she reached to the side. She walked around the table, once again going near Hiccup against her father's, and now everyone's advice, and handed the Viking his missing leg. "I believe this is yours."

Hiccup was surprised at the gesture. Before the Viking took it, he looked directly at the princess, eye to eye. After a moment, he took the leg. He paused midway when he reached out as the guards pointed their weapons at him. He was pretty sure this was among the closest time he's been to death.

With his leg back on, Hiccup stood up. There was barely any distance between him and Rapunzel. The guards were tense as the king feared for daughter. Eugene started to walk over to his wife. Rapunzel still stood near the Viking, who now noticed to be taller than herself. She smiled sheepishly and hoped there was no ill will.

"We think alike, you and I."

This made everyone stop like they were frozen. Rapunzel was confused. This would be the last thing a Viking would probably say to her, but then again, she is friends with the thugs of Corona.

"We've both managed to talk people to our side. But know this," Hiccup had Rapunzel's undivided attention now. "There are some people who do not listen to reason, nor will they want to listen to you. Be careful out there."

Hiccup walked to the guards, who lead him back to his cell. Cassandra eyes the Viking as he disappeared into the castle. Eugene reached his wife and placed his arm around her shoulders.

"That was …strange. To say the least," Eugene said. He noticed Rapunzel had no response. Fredric and Arianna took notice as well.

"Rapunzel? Are you alright?"

Rapunzel blinked a few times before she came to.

"Sorry. I just never heard a Viking say that before."

"Blondie," Eugene deadpanned. He wasn't sure to trust Hiccup for now. He takes Rapunzel back to their seats. "I don't think you've met any Viking before. And he may have just been lying. Though who can blame him. He has to stay in prison because people are paranoid."

"He's not lying."

Princess Rapunzel had taken her seat when she made that statement and looked towards her husband. Everyone had resumed eating, and Fredric had taken a bite of his food but stopped once again. Not only did they not believe Hiccup was being truthful, everyone started to think breakfast would take forever to finish at this rate.

"I'm serious. Hiccup's eyes…they said a lot. I don't know what he's been through, but he was telling the truth."

The princess ate what was left on her plate and excused herself. Eugene followed shortly, in concern for Rapunzel, he knew how she could get. The king, queen, and guards could only wonder what was going on, as Cassandra left the area.

"Raps," she called out to her friends before finally reaching them. "Everything ok?"

The princess turned to Cassandra sternly. For a moment, Rapunzel's face dropped and grabbed Cassandra's hand.

"Cass, listen to me. The next meeting will be soon. I need to be there. So, I need you to guard Hiccup."

"What? Are you—"

"Sure? Yes. Guard him."

The horns went off to signal the next gathering. All the dignitaries walked towards the designated room. Anna and Merida could be seen as they waved at Rapunzel and Eugene.

Rapunzel looked to the handmaiden and pointed her head in the direction of the dungeon a few times. Cassandra was hesitant. She believed her friend to be a little drawn out from what the Viking said, along with the next debate. And all the explosions helped with could have everyone in arms. The lady-in-waiting did not want to protect a prisoner when she should be protecting the princess. But Rapunzel persisted in making sure Cass followed her order. The handmaiden gave away when Rapunzel said she would kneel down and beg her to do this. Not wanting her best friend to prostrate herself in front of visiting royalty, and possibly bring some harm to her and the kingdom, Cassandra walked towards the dungeon, but not before she sent a concerned look to the princess.

Eugene looked at Cassandra and gave a nod indicating he would make sure Rapunzel would be alright. The Coronian royal couple walked along with the rest, as they caught up to Anna and Merida. Hopeful ready for the meeting.

**And we stop here. Hiccup and Rapunzel finally have a proper face to face talk. The next chapter is the big meeting. So we get to see what's going on with the other kingdoms. Now the announcement. The next chapter will take longer. I've decided to write more projects on this site. I will be working on this story still. It's just that many ideas swim, party, and mingle in my mind. So I want to, as Shakespeare once wrote, murder them. And how do you murder ideas? You make a reality, or in this case, write them and publish them on this site. ****Leave a review if you like. ****I wish you all a good day and hopefully see you next time. **

**Reviews:**

**Equilibrium -Grey: Sorry to say but Toothless may not be seen for a while. But Hiccup is aware it is likely to happen.**


	7. Debate and Step Forward

**And hello again. I realize it has been a while. I thank everyone who reads this for their patience. It may not be the best story, but I enjoy writing it and, even more so, enjoy seeing that people can enjoy this as well. Now onto the main event.**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing. ****Dreamworks owns How to Train Your Dragon. Disney owns Tangled, Frozen, Sword in the Stone, and Brave. Sony Pictures Entertainment and Entertainment One distributed Justin and the Knights of Valor, but Kandor Graphics created it, so they own it.  
**

* * *

Rapunzel and company walked into the throne room where the debate took place. As she sat down, the princess noticed some eyes on her. A quick scan revealed the eyes of various dukes and duchesses staring. Rapunzel could only make out a few of the faces, but they didn't share a single expression. It like looking through stained glass, only with different emotions than colors.

After everyone was seated, King Fredric stood up and addressed the room.

"I know there are concerns due to past incidents within the last few days."

The king could see dignitaries and kings that exchanged looks and glances, save for King Arthur. The young leader kept his focus on Fredric as he soaked in every word.

"However, my guards have combed the lands, and any suspicious individuals are in the dungeon. Now let us resume the topic from the last meeting. Nigel, where did we leave off?"

Nigel, the royal advisor of Corona, stepped forward with a parchment, but as he opened a voice commanded the room.

"We don't need a parchment telling us about how to contain the magic in the kingdoms!"

The forum exploded as people spoke similar thoughts, with no means of containing them.

"That's right! Magic is dangerous! We need to capture and imprison anything that reeks of it!"

"Magic is filth polluting our lands!"

"We need to prepare our armies for the coming battles! Our kingdoms are in danger!"

The shouts and statements grew more heinous and malicious. Queen else had enough and sent a blast of snow above the crowd. The storm formed into a flake that blasted across the air above and fell upon the arguing forum gently. With command now, the snow queen stood up.

"How can you all sit here and discuss magic like it's a disease? If you treat such forces as dangerous, the consequences that follow could lead to your downfall. The fact that magic exists is no threat to your kingdoms."

The room was silent for a moment. The leaders of the kingdom looked to Queen Elsa, but it wasn't long before someone spoke up. It was the King of Equis, King Trevor.

"And I supposed you have full control of your abilities? Last I heard you nearly froze your kingdom completely at your coronation."

All eyes were on King Trevor now.

"How can we trust your words if the magic you have is not properly under control?"

The forum filled with mutters and mumbles in agreement with King Trevor. While Queen Elsa had a point, unless she provided proof that she had 100% control of her powers, any argument was moot. Elsa sat down in frustration, or she would have if Rapunzel had not intervened.

"I believe Queen Elsa is right."

The crowd gasped as Corona's princess stood up.

"There are a lot of things we don't know about magic. If we treat it as some evil that needs conquering, then we'd be destroying something that proves to be beneficial to us, our people, and our kingdoms. There are dangers, but we cannot be prejudice about everything new we see. I'm sure those of you who came would also want peace and prosperity, right?"

As Rapunzel looked across the room, she saw disagreement with many dignitaries. Some showed compassion and understanding, but in comparison, many were in favor of detainment than education.

"You're just saying that because she's your cousin."

Another voice spoke up, the Duke of Weselton. The duke stood up straight but had to ask for help due to his short stature.

"You're the ice queen's cousin, aren't you?" the room had filled with ghastly silence. "You once had magic hair that could heal, but your husband cut it off. I've done my research and heard of your tale. If you believed her words, then why did you have your hair cut? Such power would have helped your citizens. Wouldn't it?"

Rapunzel tried to retort to the Duke's harsh words, but the man continued his verbal assault.

"And if you still had that power, wouldn't it be coveted by those similar to the witch who raised you?"

People in the forum, whop we unaware of Rapunzel's upbringing, gasped in shock.

"Why should we let such power exist in the first place."

King Fredric got up in rage at the question. He was not going to take these arguments against his daughter anymore.

"Where did you hear of these…these—"

"Facts?" the Duke asked. "I shan't trust a man who would allow such dangers in the world to exist with that knowledge."

The forum murmured, as Rapunzel stayed standing. Her attempts at peace tossed aside to a disposition of doubt and detestation. Still, Rapunzel would not give up that easily.

"I implore you," So Rapunzel tried a different approach. "Magic is real. It has been for centuries, and for the first time in forever, we have gathered here today to discuss its presence. I understand that some of you are suspicious of the dangers of the unknown. Still, I hope that by the end of the week, you will consider a more peaceful solution."

At her words, everyone looked to one another then to the princess. Most of them eyed her with curiosity. At this, the duke spoke.

"So be it," The duke said before he turned to the crowd. "While I'm not convinced, she is right. The week is still young. Therefore, I say we give Princess Rapunzel the week to prove us wrong."

Rapunzel was surprised at the man's generosity if one could put it that way. But before she could speak, the man had one last thing to say.

"But be warned, for you now have the attention of your allies and possible enemies. So choose what you do with care."

And now the princess was put into the spotlight. She wasn't sure about allies, and she had a reputation for being different. And to others, it could be seen in a negative light. The forum looked to the princess, their eyes full of judgment. Save for her friends and family. However, a voice rang out among staring.

"I agree with Princess Rapunzel and Queen Elsa."

Everyone looked to see the young King Arthur standing up. The boy was nervous. He had not been the center of attention like this since his coronation. But he was King of England now, and it was time to pull his weight.

"We cannot put every magical thing we see and believe to be evil. I say we should study the elements, at least."

There was silence, then a snicker, and finally, people laughed.

"Ah, the young boy king thinks himself to be a man."

"What do you expect, the boy is ordained by a magic sword."

"You got to be joking."

Arthur was confused, as a king is supposed to at least have some command of respect, even among meetings between kingdoms. A man, looking to be in his late forties/early fifties, spoke up.

"Young King Arthur." He said with a deep voice. "While I must applaud you for your courage, you have only been a king for a few months and have not been educated properly. You are still naïve about the world around you."

"Well, that's why I'm here to learn. Isn't knowledge more beneficial than power?"

The man chuckled as he nudged his elbows into the people on his sides. They started to join in for a laugh.

"I suggest you study some more before you can properly say such declarations, for they are the same. However, if anyone agrees with the child, by all means, raise your voice."

By now, Rapunzel expected silence or laughter, but instead, someone answered.

"Ah agree!" said a booming voice that startled some in the forum. All eyes were now on the owner, King Fergus. He got up and walked to the middle of the room. A limp would follow with each step of his peg leg, but he walked with a posture of authority, that no one called him out of it. He spoke when he reached the middle of the room.

"Mae kingdom is not old but has been built on the foundation of clans joining in arms. We've fought many invaders. I've lost my leg," he gestured to the wooden replacement, "fighting a demon bear. And only a year ago, mae wife was turned into a bear, and I almost harmed her. If anything, I want to know what's out there. Yet all you dainty little galoots can say is lock, stock, and kill whatever is out in the world without knowing what it is."

The forum shushed and stared at the Celtic king.

"I'm all for attackin' whit attacks me, but if you think I'm just gonna cause trouble, just cause something's far awa'. Then maybe ye aren't as smart as ye're supposed to be."

Everyone was quiet. Princess Rapunzel and King Arthur looked to Fergus with a new sense of respect. Even King Fredric and Queen Arianna were grateful for the man's words. However, the same gentleman who spoke up earlier just chuckled.

"And I take it if an army were to gather its forces far away, you would see it fit to leave it be. How can you talk about not looking for trouble when we have savages who could use this power to attack other kingdoms. And not just other kingdoms, our kingdoms as well. Think about it, if there is barely any magic, how will our enemies attack us with any advantage?"

King Fergus raised an eyebrow at the man's words. Whatever point the highlander had, this man did not agree.

"Though," the man continued to say, "to be fair, you may have almost destroyed your kingdom when your wife transformed into a bear for all we know. So perhaps magic can destroy barbarian kingdoms."

That crossed a line. Warriors or not, this man had now directly insulted the Kingdom of Dunbroch. Fergus wasn't going to have this man insult him anymore, but Merida beat him to the punch.

"And who do you think ya are insulting our kingdom?"

Princess Merida took a stand next to her father. She glared at the man who called her people savages.

The man turned around. He did not smirk nor give any acknowledgment of Merida. If anything, the man looked insulted that the Celts did not know who he was.

"I am Duke Archibald of Galcrest, here in place of my king, who was too ill to travel."

All eyes were on Archibald. The gazes were of a variety, but only a few were equal parts agreement or disfavor. The rest were undecided.

King Fergus was angry. So was Merida, but she wasn't going to let the man have the last laugh. She would think of something later. But for now, the princess guided her father back to their seats, though the Celtic king was still mad. Sir Archibald sat back down with a smile, as King Fredric called for an intermission.

Eugene rushed to his wife's side, as did Elsa and Anna. Merida joined in as well, with her father and mother following. The rest of the forum had left. Duke Archibald, however, took the time to look at someone with a smirk.

"Are you alright?" Anna asked. She was polite, but everyone knew that Rapunzel was a little overwhelmed. Elsa sent a slight look to her cousin, who noticed. She wasn't kidding when she said to be careful last night.

"I'm fine," Rapunzel spoke with a shaken tone. "I just didn't realize what happened when I left last time."

"They seemed madder than the last meeting," said King Arthur, who hadn't left the room yet. He stood a small distance away as not to seem rude or impolite. "Sorry if I interrupted, but I wanted to say that I agree on the matter. We need to know what's out there before anything."

King Fergus walked over and pushed the young king closer. The man respected Arthur for speaking out, even though the crowd made him a joke.

"Aye," King Fergus said, "but ay don't think they agree. Gamy lot they are, especially that Arch fellow." Fergus had muttered that last part, but everyone heard it. King Fredric nodded in agreement. He had met the duke once. Eccentric, was the perfect word for him as were his philosophy about royalty and kingdoms could seem odd. But the duke would have to wait. For now, the King and Queen of Corona escorted everyone out.

* * *

Sir Bart had waited outside the room. Knights were not allowed inside, and Sir Kay had walked back to the knight with a distant look.

"What did he want?" Bart asked.

Kay's expression became lively but stern as he gave his answer.

"Not sure."

"Not sure? What kind of answer is that?" Sir Bart was agitated with the younger knight.

"The man is…odd. All he did was ask questions?"

"What did you say?"

"Nothing. I don't like him, so I said nothing." Sir Kay gestured to where he spoke. Sir Bart wanted to know what questions, but King Arthur had exited the room with the others and called for them.

"Sir Bart. Sir Kay."

The two heard him and surrounded him for the young king's protection. They heard from comments of what happened inside. Arthur seemed a little down, but he was hungry and could use something to eat. As the three excused themselves for some food, King Fergus asked to join them. The Celtic king had an appetite.

The knights looked to each other, then to their king, who nodded with a small smile. As they walked away, Merida and Elinor said they would meet up later. They turned to the others, only to notice Rapunzel and Eugene had started walking away. Elsa, Anna, and Merida followed after them as the king, and two queens decided to take the time to chat.

Rapunzel was mentally exhausted. She didn't know what to say or what would help her calm down. Eugene was frantically trying to keep up with his wife, who zigzagged at random.

"Rapunzel? Honey? Anything I can do to help?" He asked with each turn. Eventually, he bumped into his wife, who stopped abruptly. She scanned the area around and then started to walk back from where they came. She bumped into the other and said, 'excuse me' as she walked past them. Merida looked to Eugene for answers, but he shrugged his shoulders and followed Rapunzel.

The princess walked with determination and focus, as she navigated the castle's hallways. It wasn't long before Eugene realized where she was going and grabbed Rapunzel.

"Blondie," he said with concern, "I know what you're thinking, but I doubt HE can help."

Rapunzel turned to her husband. She smiled sweetly and kissed him on the cheek as she gripped his hand tightly. She noticed Elsa, Anna, and Merida were behind her with inquisitive expressions. Rapunzel gave a sheepish grin.

"Sorry, but I think I know who might be of some…help. Follow me."

* * *

In the dungeon, Cassandra was keeping Hiccup company. To her surprise, the Viking prisoner was decent company. When she first arrived, he asked if everything was alright. Cassandra explained everything, and he chuckled a bit with a pleasant smile. The two sat, or in Cassandra's case leaned, in silence, however, but it was a bit nice since nothing has happened in the dungeon.

And that's when Rapunzel and company arrived. Cassandra stood up quickly in response. The lady-in-waiting wanted to ask why Rapunzel had come here. However, the princess walked past her and to the bars. Hiccup, along with everyone else, was confused at the situation.

"I know you don't want to talk, but I have a feeling you might be able to help. So please listen to what I have to say."

Everyone stared at the Coronian princess in surprise. Eugene went to her side, while everyone else stayed a few steps back.

"What did I miss?" Cassandra asked.

* * *

**A bit short in comparison to the other chapters, but I didn't want to just keep working on it. How would it get posted? Anyway, what is it Rapunzel needs of Hiccup? We shall find out in the next chapter. Also, Duke Archibald is an original character, I am adding him along with others because it doesn't seem like a real meeting if the dignitaries don't have names and some interaction with the cast. **

**If you have a suggestion, please feel free to PM me or put it in a review. Have a good day everyone.**

**Reviews**

**Guest: This story takes place after the following movies and any specials: Tangled, Tangled Ever After, How to Train Your Dragon 2, Frozen, The Sword in the Stone, Justin and the Knights of Valor, and Brave((2012).**

**qazse: I can't wait for Toothless to meet Rapunzel as well.**

**Equilibrium -Grey: As funny as that maybe, I don't have Toothless appear now for plot reasons. But you are right Toothless is a good tracker. How good? you shall see.**


	8. How to Decide the Next Step

**Hey there. After...three weeks, I bring you all a new chapter. I hope you enjoy.**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing. ****Dreamworks owns How to Train Your Dragon. Disney owns Tangled, Frozen, Sword in the Stone, and Brave. Sony Pictures Entertainment and Entertainment One distributed Justin and the Knights of Valor, but Kandor Graphics created it, so they own it.  
**

* * *

Hiccup Haddock was lost again. Rapunzel had ordered the guards to let him out as Cassandra would escort him so they could talk in private, and not cause a scene. Eugene, along with Elsa, Anna, and Merida, went with her. They arrived in the Portrait Room. No one still came to the room at this time. Hiccup walked around the room, surveying the paintings as Rapunzel had the guards make sure no unwanted guests came.

Once the doors closed, Cassandra tapped the Viking on the shoulder and pointed to Rapunzel. The handmaiden was confused by all this, but she knew Hiccup was no threat to her, especially with all possessions confiscated. But before Corona's princess could speak, Anna wanted to make sure of something.

"Aren't you the guy who blew up the Snugly Duckling?" Anna was confused about why the guy who caused an explosion is the person Rapunzel have sought for help. She tried to walk up to Hiccup, but Elsa had an arm out to stop her. After she glanced at her sister, Anna turned her attention to her cousin. "Why do you need to talk to this guy?"

Rapunzel gestured to her cousin to wait a moment, but once again—

"Ain don't say this what ye do with all yer prisoners," Merida interrupted, "Cause that can't be a good…policy."

Eugene stood in front of the two as he went to his wife's side. He gave a face that gestured for them to be silent. Before the two could retort, Elsa gave her sister and the Celtic princess an emotionless stare to silence them. The ice queen turned and kept her eyes on the Viking. Her arm kept out in protection. Eugene motioned for Rapunzel to start, but he never left her side.

"Back in the garden, you said that we are similar. And you have experience with stubbornness. So, I believe you can help me, but I need you to listen," Rapunzel had Hiccup's attention.

Hiccup gave her a wide-eyed expression before he chuckled a bit.

"That's why you had me taken out of the cell?" Hiccup asked. "Listen, I did say we are similar, but that doesn't mean I'm the go-to guy for your problems."

"But you were honest when you said—"

"I'm a Viking," Hiccup interrupted Rapunzel. "We're not big on philosophical thinking."

The was a pause as Hiccup thought to himself for a moment.

"Well except maybe Fishlegs, but that's beside the point. I doubt anything I say will help you with—"

Upon being hit in the head by a snowball, courtesy of Elsa, Hiccup stopped and went on to listen. But not before he gave Elsa a look of annoyance. The cold didn't bother him, but a queen attacking him with snow did. Rapunzel Went to state her current problem.

"Right now, the kingdoms are discussing magical elements across the lands. Those among royalty or in power are talking about either detaining or eliminating anything magical. They're saying it is a threat to their kingdom. But I've known better, Elsa here can control snow and ice," At Rapunzel's words, the Viking braced himself for the snowball, he thought Elsa would throw. All the ice queen threw at him was a mischievous face. "I used to have magical hair that could glow and heal others."

Rapunzel stopped for a moment to let Hiccup process the last part. He could understand the situation, but the Viking glanced to her hair, unable to comprehend that part.

She understood that it might have been a lot to comprehend. Who, in their right mind, would believe a tale like that? However, Rapunzel knew there is a connection of understanding. No one could find her similar. Not even Eugene, but he loved her nonetheless. She was unique for her personality and situation. The moment she remembered his words, Rapunzel knew he might have some idea of what to do. Hiccup looked around for any verification from the others and saw mainly confirmation, save for Merida.

"She used to be a golden blonde, and with hair so long, she could scale the tallest tower with it," Eugene said. "Well, she did, until I cut it off. It turned brown and lost its magical properties, but she looks better without it."

Rapunzel grabbed Eugene's hand and squeezed it. If Hiccup hadn't coughed, they would have stayed like that for a while.

"I'm sorry for interrupting this moment," Hiccup said, "but I take it you don't agree with the people talking, right?"

Rapunzel nodded. Hiccup took a deep breath. Back when Berk first made peace with dragons, Viking life was a bit chaotic. The reptiles devoured any food they saved, and they generally would eat whatever was caught. Not to mention, the dragons could be found everywhere. Personal space was not their forte with humans. When Hiccup first attempted to rectify this, it started a small incident that left Hiccup with flaming sheep nightmares for months. It has taken him years, but Berk has been transforming into a utopia for dragons. Though there are still others, who think dragons are far less than the majestic creatures they are. Now, Hiccup related to the princess, but he could not a word about the dragons. With each passing in Corona, disclosing about their existence would bring more trouble than the hunters.

Hiccup leaned on the wall to think. However, Cassandra punched his arm for doing so on one of the pictures. He wanted to help, he did, but the Viking would have to choose his words carefully. The princess, Rapunzel, had a knack for getting people to talk, even with trivial matters.

"Before I was interrupted so rudely," Hiccup dodged the snowball Elsa threw. "I have to point out that, like I was saying, I doubt what I will help you. Vikings and Coronians come from different…perspectives."

Hiccup had to be diplomatic here. Anything that could upset Rapunzel or anyone else here could hinder his progress. Not that there was much at all. Rapunzel was more than willing to listen, considering that she pulled him from his cell to do so.

"Talking to someone who won't listen to reason," Hiccup said with a low tone, "it's worse than what you may think. You can have this amazing idea, but someone could have a …opposite opinion. And if you think that you can convince anyone, then the gods will prove you wrong."

Hiccup now looked to Rapunzel and Eugene directly.

"There are people with the kingdoms, who think differently than detainment. It won't surprise me if one of them plans to capture and use these magical elements to conquer other kingdoms."

"Oh, we heard," Merida butted in with frustration, "someone calls them savages."

Hiccup glanced at her and shook his head. He didn't want to meet the man who said that. However...

"As much I hate to say it, I have to agree with the idea that a kingdom would weaponize magic," This surprised everyone. "Hel, I met such a man once. I believed I could reason with him, but…"

Hiccup couldn't finish; he was too overcome with emotion as he remembered Drago. The man took control of his best friend, Toothless, and had the dragon fire at Hiccup. Stoic, his father, took the hit and died. Hiccup was spared, but Drago proved how far men lof his character would go.

Rapunzel saw the conflict and walked over to the Viking. Eugene and Cassandra attempted to stop her. But the princess gestured for them to stop as she looked the Viking in the eye.

"What happened?" The Viking didn't shed a tear, but Rapunzel could see the darkness inside.

Hiccup recalled the guilt he felt at his father's death. It could have been prevented, but Hiccup was too stubborn.

"Just…a lot happened," Hiccup managed to say before he looked to Rapunzel. "My father once said, 'people who kill without reason, can't be reasoned with.' It's not the best piece of wisdom, but it's a harsh truth."

The Viking decided he should let his emotions get the best of him and stood up. He managed to present himself decently, relative to his company.

"Rapunzel…be careful with those around you. There are people out in the world who can have a twisted perspective of your own," Hiccup then looked to the room. "But, I think you may have the right…friends?"

"Cousins," Anna corrected before she noticed Merida. "But Princess Merida is a friend."

"Right," Hiccup resumed. "And you probably know how to play whatever is going on."

"It's politics," Cassandra deadpanned. To her, the subject was a mess. However, that comment had everyone else in the room glaring at her in agitation. The handmaiden had to look the other to avoid the painful stares. It was as if she just stepped on a landmine. She would have to fix things later.

"Right that," To that, Hiccup chuckled sheepishly. He had forgotten that term. "Vikings are more about speaking with their axes than words."

"Do you have anything else to say?" Rapunzel inquired Hiccup.

The Viking took a deep breath and looked back to his past. There had to something he could give: advice, experience, or even a small nugget of wisdom. A minute later, Hiccup looked to the princess.

"Politics is the same as diplomacy. Which I luckily have dabbled in. For better or worse, you probably won't get everyone on your side. But when you've earned the trust of the people around you and have managed to help bring the good out in some enemies, you won't find better allies who will come to your aid," Hiccup saw the expressions of disbelief from the others. No one would believe those were words from a Viking. "What? I'm not joking. I've had some enemies that have become my closest allies. One of them even calls me 'brother.'"

Rapunzel smiled at the Viking for his advice. It wasn't much, but hearing the idea of adversaries that became friends, lightened her mood. With a swift motion, the Rapunzel gave Hiccup a warm hug, much to the shock of everyone in the room, except Eugene and Cassandra.

"Thank you," She said to the Viking, who, after a moment of registering what happened, returned the hug.

A knock came from the door. Everyone froze as a guard came in. The man looked to the hug Rapunzel was still in and shrugged his shoulders. Everyone in the kingdom knew of their princess's open-mindedness.

"Your majesties, the intermission for the second forum is ending. I have told to make sure all members return to the room," he said.

Rapunzel acknowledged and told the guard to give them some time.

"Right then," Rapunzel had let go of the Viking, "We'll have to return to this later," Rapunzel said. But as she was about to leave, she realized that Hiccup would just be guided back to the dungeon. So, she decided that maybe Hiccup could spend his time in a less...dreary place. "In the meantime, how about Cass shows you around Corona?"

"What?!" said everyone else in the room, Cassandra was personally surprised and spoke the loudest.

"Relax. If you still don't trust Hiccup, Cass here is the toughest person Eugene and I know," Rapunzel said with a smile. "Besides, I doubt he means to cause any harm. Or can if she's watching."

Eugene wanted to argue, but she had a point. If Cassandra was a guard back in his days, Eugene's thief days would have a lot tougher.

Cassandra begrudgingly accepted the order. Not only did the princess have a point about her, but she didn't want someone under suspicion to walk free. Or possibly escape. That could cause a scandal if word got out. She could handle the Viking, he

"Are you sure about this?" Hiccup asked. Within the time they knew each other, Hiccup grew to respect Rapunzel. However, that didn't mean the princess should let a man under suspicion out for a tour. "Giving me a tour of Corona when I'm under suspicion?"

"As I said, that's why Cass is going with you," Rapunzel now gestured to Cassandra. At the mention of her name, the lady-in-waiting cracked her knuckles and neck with a sadistic grin. It reminded Hiccup of Astrid, which made him realize that he is in serious trouble if he tries something. Which meant he would need the cunning of Loki before he could regroup with Toothless.

Truth be told, this was still a gift from the gods, as a tour of the city would mean Hiccup could get out and possibly leave, despite the consequences. But if Cassandra were anything like a certain Viking lady back home, and Hiccup could believe the were related sometimes, it could be nigh impossible. But at the very least it was the better option.

"Better than jail," Hiccup said with a small smile. "So, where do we start?"

"You two decide on that," Rapunzel replied with a small smile that faded as she walked away. "The rest of us have to go back to the meeting. And deal with the kingdoms."

Everyone, sans Hiccup and Cassandra, exited the room in a groan. This left an awkward silence, as it felt like something was spilled and made a mess for a moment.

Hiccup rubbed his arm in discomfort before he gestured to leaving as he and Cassandra left the room.

* * *

No one wanted to go back to the meeting. Rapunzel had found her excitement from previous days had depleted exponentially. And when she returned, more eyes were on her. However, Rapunzel, along with Eugene, Elsa, Anna, and Merida, had noticed that most were neutral and had a curiousness behind them. Anytime Rapunzel made eye contact with one of the dignitaries, they would either nod their heads or stare back. They acknowledged her but had no grounds of respect for Corona's princess.

At the end of the room, Chagatai Khan could be seen talking to King Fredric and Queen Arianna. As Rapunzel got closer, she overheard the conversation.

"I'm simply stating that your daughter's approach may be a bit…soft," Khan stated with a soft, quiet tone.

"We haven't even heard anything from her yet," King Fredric responded sternly.

"But I have seen different manners of creatures, including a very dangerous, long-forgotten beast. They can be contained, but—"

"The methods contradict our daughter's possible ideas?" Queen Arianna did not like the man's tone.

"All I am saying, your majesties, is that Princess Rapunzel's idea of categorizing may seem…bold, but these are powerful creatures that will not yield to humanity just because one can be civil. We must take action."

"Which is what I am saying," Rapunzel made her presence known to the man and her parents. While the princess respected Mr. Khan, she wasn't going to let him take control of the topic. She knew violence was not the proper way, nor would she and anyone encourage it.

Rapunzel looked Khan in the eye as she resumed.

"While some creature may pose a threat, King Fergus made a point of not going about starting fights."

"Oh please," Khan commented snidely. "I've seen his kind before. They are warriors, Princess Rapunzel. He may talk of peace now, but people of his culture will miss the bloodshed."

The king and Queen of Corona eyed the man suspiciously. For the first time, the man had talked about his life. This had been subject Khan had avoided with some grace.

While the Rapunzel thought the same, she decided to give the man some room on that matter. She was here for peace, not war. And she was barely keeping any of that.

"You say that now, but I have personally met him. If King Fergus didn't believe in the idea of peace, then he wouldn't have come here. We have to give it a chance." Rapunzel could be the most stubborn princess when it came to topics she truly believed in, such as the idea that people are better than most think. She locked eyes with the strange man, who stared back with condescension.

As the last dignitary arrived, the horns blared throughout the room as everyone went back to their seats. Chagatai Khan went back to his place, next to the Queen of Ingvarr.

"I welcome you back after a somewhat lengthy intermission," King Fredric began the second half of the meeting. "Nigel—"

"Beg pardons your Majesty," Duke Archibald spoke up. "But, if you are asking where we left off, I believe I had the floor."

The crowd murmured as some pointed their vision towards the DunBroch Kingdom, whose king was glaring back at the wandering eyes.

"My fellow members of parliament," The Duke's voice rang through the room. "We gathered here today because the existence of magic has troubled our kingdoms, from the ice storm in Arendelle to the transformation of the royal lineage of Neserdnia into swans to the cursing dwarf of Bayangor. It is clear from these events, that magic is a dangerous element that must be dealt with. In the first half, the Princess Rapunzel talked of the magical as if it holds no wicked intent." The Duke gestured to Rapunzel at that last sentence. "But I ask that if we may hear of tales from others, who have been wronged by magic, and see what they think."

Rapunzel had to admit, Duke Archibald knew how to talk. And that was a problem as an elderly gentleman stood up in the forum.

"I am Graf Palin of Bayangor," The man introduced himself with an unsteady, coarse voice. "Years ago, a terrible man took away the children of a town under my rule. We searched everywhere, but the fiend, along with our children, could not be found." Graf Palin rubbed his eye as the crowd listened in shock. The room filled with silence as a middle-aged man took a stand.

"King Deulin of … I am. My twelve daughters would always wear worn-out shoes where-ever they go. When I asked them why that is so, they had no answer. From across my lands, I asked for help in finding out why. One of my soldiers discovered that they had been enchanted by twelve princes who would dance with them each night in isolation. Upon the truth presented, I had these 'princes' locked away, and at next morning they vanished from each of their cells."

The people of the forum now loudly shouted at the thought of the same happening to their daughters.

Two more came upfront with stories of how magic had wronged them. A queen spoke of a monster that had nearly destroyed her son's wife and child. When the creature was caught, it admitted to doing this for enjoyment. The last one, a viscount, told of a man who meddled in magic, only to turn his children into ravens.

Rapunzel was heartbroken to hear of such tales as Duke Archibald once again commanded the room.

"Princess Rapunzel," Archibald spoke sweetly. "I am afraid magic is an agent of chaos that has wreaked havoc upon our lands. Not all the kingdoms have dealt with it, but these tales have shown the trouble they cause. And thus, we must band together and find a way to either detain, control, or remove this danger."

Chagatai Khan could be seen eyeing the nobleman with peculiar intent. However, before he could take action, another took a stand. King Trevor of Equis.

"And how would you propose we do this?" The man, while he could act like a child at times, was curious as the forum was filled with the idea of control or contain, but no one presented any designs so far. "Don't get me wrong, I have complained of Queen Elsa's magic, but I wish to hear a solution.

Duke Archibald was now at a loss for words. He had no answer to give, nor could he think of one on the spot.

Rapunzel had plenty to say, heartbroken but not discouraged. Shee remembered Hiccup's words from before. The princess may not get everyone to see her perspective, but she could reach those that would help.

"King Trevor has a good point," King Fredric dropped his jaw in shock at his daughter's words. "While yes, this is the second meeting, and some have argued of the harm that has been brought to their kingdoms. Has anyone brought forth a plan? Any fact? A first step?"

The forum was silent. Dignitaries, kings, and queens looked to one another with clapped lips. Rapunzel gave the room a few minutes as she waited for a response of any sort.

"No one has an idea?"

Rapunzel surveyed around the room. Her eyes landed on Khan, who looked away with a smirk. She did not like what the possibilities of that smirk could mean. King Arthur had his hand on his mouth as he sat in deep thought. King Fergus scanned the room with fervor, while Queen Elinor mainly sniped expressions and emotions from the forum. Princess Merida sat quietly. The Celtic princess didn't have an idea, but she waited for anyone to speak. Princess Anna gazed across from her seat before she went to her sister, who just wore a calm face, albeit with a small smile.

"If no one has an idea, then we need to create and present one. We still have days till The Grand Kingdom Meeting is over, so why not present whatever seems like a viable plan. Let each nation display a direction we could take to handle the magic in our world. At the end of the week, we will decide on a vote."

"And what happens if none of these ideas are good, or we come to a draw?" King Trevor, however, decided to speak up again in protest. It was hard to tell if he was on anyone's side at times. "If we can't find anything, then how will we deal with the 'menace' of magic?"

Rapunzel was tongue-tied with anger at King Trevor. The man could be eccentric, but this was too much for her.

"I say we go with Princess Rapunzel's suggestion, nonetheless." Said a voice. It belonged to the Queen of Gabylonia. "Years back, I tried to make sense of chaos and violence by the use of lawyers and rules for orders. But there was disagreement. And years later, an invasion was almost brought upon my kingdom." The Queen walked to the center of the room and pushed Duke Archibald aside. The nobleman went back to his seated position. "If we want any solution to be made, then we must take the first step and search for an answer. My attempt at order was a mistake, and most likely, we will be presented with some, if not most. But as we have heard, magic is an unpredictable element. So, I'll repeat it. I agree with Princess Rapunzel's proposal."

"And if we still can not agree?" King Trevor asked.

"Then we must at least create a system to which we can use against any dangers that may march to our doors. I believe such a system is in place already. In which we call for help from other kingdoms. But it has been a while since I attended these meetings."

Quiet laughter is heard across the room as King Trevor sulked back into his seat. He did not like the Queen of Gabylonia's tone. The Queen of Gabylonia nodded to Princess Rapunzel before she returned to her seat.

"Then it is settled," King Fredric stood up. "this year, we shall present suggestions and ideas on how to solve any future magical problems. While I believe this has been exhausting, in more ways than one, it should be noted that we must agree on the rules of this presentation."

Though the princess's idea was accepted, if ground rules were not set in place, especially since it would give the forum a common ground for agreement, then none of the suggestions could be agreed upon. The many kingdoms, while most had the same structure, each had a different culture and different way of life. The King of Corona doubted there wouldn't be any culture clash.

But King Fredric still looked to his daughter proudly, which Rapunzel returned with a smile.

"Then we are in agreement?" Rapunzel asked the room.

It was better than nothing, and no kingdom wanted to leave without accomplishing some manner of progress. While there were some naysayers, the countries agreed on the notion. with words of agreement from the majority, the next meeting would include presentations, when ready, from other kingdoms. At the sound of the horn, the second meeting was officially over.

Eugene walked over from his seat and held on to his wife. He was worried she might be exhausted again.

"You alright?" Eugene asked.

"Are all these meetings going to be like this?" Rapunzel wondered to herself.

"Probably," The Queen of Gabylonia was seen walking over. "Some of these dignitaries can be bothersome, but pain runs everywhere."

The Queen bowed to Rapunzel in greetings.

"You were very brave Princess Rapunzel. In years before, my husband would handle these matters. But times change. I wish you the best of luck."

"Thank your majesty," Rapunzel bowed back.

"You are very welcome, but call by my name Queen Gloria of Gabylonia," The Queen sent the princess a smile.

* * *

Hiccup enjoyed being out of the prison, albeit with Cassandra as company, but it was better than being in a cell. The handmaiden was not happy being away from the Grand Kingdom Meeting. Especially when she should be guarding her best friend. But she had a task given to her, one she could not refuse since Rapunzel probably meant for it to a noble mission, or something along the lines, in her head. Sometimes Cassandra didn't understand her friend.

"So, where should we start?" Hiccup wanted to break the ice. The Viking figured if he had company, he might as well enjoy it.

"This may be a long day," Cassandra thought as she led the way.

Unbeknownst to them, someone had taken notice of them and followed.

* * *

**So that's all for now. So, Rapunzel asked Hiccup for help as she went through the other half of the second meeting and Hiccup will now get a formal tour of Corona. I wonder what will be presented next meeting. Taxing as this chapter was, along with the other aspects of my life, I still enjoyed writing it. Till then, have a good evening. Leave any thoughts behind.**


	9. Tour of Corona

**Disclaimer: I own nothing. ****Dreamworks owns How to Train Your Dragon. Disney owns Tangled, Frozen, Sword in the Stone, and Brave. Sony Pictures Entertainment and Entertainment One distributed Justin and the Knights of Valor, but Kandor Graphics created it, so they own it.  
**

* * *

Cassandra figured that the town square would be the perfect place to start. Shops would be busy and full of people, and the guards were on high alert ever since the explosion. So, if Hiccup tried something, he would have a harder time doing so here.

The two were mostly silent, not that Cassandra was complaining. She enjoyed a quiet walk now and then. And with nothing distracting her, the handmaiden could keep an eye on the Viking. Hiccup, while he liked some peace and quiet as well, was not comfortable with feeling like a criminal being escorted. Sure, he was under suspicion, but Cass gave this aura of close vigilance. It almost drove him mad.

"So, where should we start?" Hiccup broke the silence. Since Cassandra was his company, then he should take the time to know her. At least for now.

The Viking soon found his shoulder in the handmaiden's grip, who seemed to have strength similar to his people. Like someone back home. Before long, Hiccup found himself dragged over to a tent nearby.

When Hiccup finally got his bearings in order, he looked around and saw weapons and shields lined against the wall. Armor was placed in dummies at the front. But there was not just weapons and armor, Hiccup saw shields, slabs of metal, and many other metalworks. The Viking looked to the back and saw a man working the forge.

"I figured the blacksmith would be a great start," Cassandra grinned as she spoke. "I just love coming here. I usually provide maintenance to my weapons, but Xavier does such great work."

"Xavier?" Hiccup asked to no one. He knew what was happening, but his thoughts were interrupted by the man in the back.

Hiccup now had a better look at the man, Xavier, who was facing away before. The man was big by Coronian standards, but he was just right for a Viking. He wore a face that bore no judgment. He had white hair on the side of his head with a beard and mustache that contrasted with his skin.

"Greetings, Cassandra," Xavier spoke with a gentle voice. "I see you've brought company."

Hiccup looked to Cassandra, who was inspecting a dagger. She placed her finger on the tip to check the sharpness. Despite what the handmaiden was trying to do, Hiccup went up to greet the man.

"Hello," Hiccup extended an arm, "How are you I'm—"

"The gentleman who is suspected of the explosions, right?" Xavier asked with no malice in his voice, but curiosity. Hiccup was surprised to hear the man say that, as was Cassandra. "I hear many things in Corona. Plus, Princess Rapunzel was here earlier. She wanted me to look at your peg-leg. Interesting piece, especially the metal. Where did you find it?"

Hiccup, while he favored the compliment to his people's discovery of the metal, did not want to disperse the information. Gronkle Iron, which the Vikings of Berk have used for years now, was not something he wanted to trade with acquaintances, yet.

"Sorry, trade secret," Hiccup stated.

Xavier shrugged his shoulders and was okay with the answer. The man could respect trade secrets. He went back to work as the Viking examined the weapons. Cassandra kept a close eye on the Viking. She took him here for reasons besides showing off her love of weaponry and how she has done her best to keep them sharp.

Cassandra placed her hand on a handle. All Hiccup had to do was grab one of the weapons. Instead, all he touched were the blades. His fingers gently glided near the edges.

"You did all this?" Hiccup asked.

"I have been a blacksmith for many years now," Xavier did not look away from his forge. "I have also traveled parts of the world. And have come to know a great deal."

"Is that so?"

"Indeed. I have traveled to many faraway places and have seen many things."

"Is that so?" Hiccup was barely paying attention. He had more focus on the blades.

"Quite, I can even tell where a man is from but I think you are a little small for a Viking. And quite far away."

Hiccup had slid his finger too fast and cut himself when he heard Xavier's words. So far, he had to say he was a Viking just to let people know. Hiccup stared at the smith, who chuckled as he hammered a slab of iron. Nobody would believe Hiccup was a Viking at a first glance.

"Don't worry, I won't ask a thing. It is your business," Xavier glanced at the entrance. "But, I can't say for the gentleman at the front."

Cassandra flung the entrance drapes open to reveal Sir Justin at the front.

"Lady Cassandra," he greeted. The knight, while sore about Cassandra's behavior from the bar, decided it was better to be polite to the handmaiden.

"Just Cass is fine," Cassandra deadpanned. "Don't call me Cassandra, especially not Lady Cassandra."

Hiccup wanted to laugh at that remark. The handmaiden had similarities to someone back home. But when Sir Justin eyed Hiccup, and the Viking looked back, the two stared at each other in silence.

Sir Justin may have had his suspicions, but Hiccup did show some honor and kindness when he alerted everyone to evacuate the Snugly Duckling. But he was still under suspicion, now by royal decree. As a knight, Justin had to act accordingly but would give the Viking some slack.

Hiccup's thoughts about Sir Justin were more complicated. He thought back to their duel and how Sir Justin told of how he fought a dragon. Hiccup had been Chief of Berk for only a few years, but he had put much more in making the world more understanding of dragons. After the incident with Drago Bludvist, things had become increasingly difficult, especially when there were tribes that supported Drago. Hiccup wondered if Drago had someone outposts here or at least some connection. For now, the Viking would tolerate the knight.

"Justin there you are," Talia said as she ran over. "The next time we shop for inventory please don't leave—"

Talia stopped when she saw Hiccup and Justin staring. She eyed the two's little contest before she decided Justin need a slap upside the head.

"Ow! Was that necessary?" Justin asked as he rubbed his head. His gaze broke off from Hiccup's, who went back to browsing.

"Considering you two were staring like idiots, yes," Talia responded as she walked to a shield. Cassandra smirked at the lady warrior as she walked by. However, it was not just Talia who was with Justin.

"Hey, Talia, did you find Justin? You said you saw him come here." Varian proclaimed his presence as he walked through and saw everyone. Xavier greeted the boy as he placed a newly finished blade down. While the room was silent and tense, Varian ignored the atmosphere.

"Hey Cass," the alchemist waved to his friend. Cassandra waved back with a smile but frowned when Varian walked toward Hiccup. Cassandra gripped his shoulder and shook her head. However, Varian shook her off an approached the Viking.

"Hey, Mr. Hiccup," Varian waved weakly to the Viking. Cassandra pulled the boy back. She looked to her friend with confused concern. From what the handmaiden knew, Varian would never walk up to a stranger like that. Especially a stranger who was under suspicion and held prisoner.

Now that she thought about it. The circumstances that lead to where she was right now started to barely make any sense to her.

"Varian," Hiccup turned to the alchemist. "Hiccup is just fine. You don't need to add anything else."

"Oh right," Varian rubbed his arm in awkwardness. He wanted to say more but wasn't sure what to say. Fortunately, Xavier, who had been listening, brought out a weapon pommel.

"Varian, did you want to take a look at this?" The blacksmith dangled the pommel in the air. Varian recognized it, but so did Hiccup when he saw.

"Inferno!?" the Viking said in a raised tone. He was more than surprised to see his invention with the blacksmith. Hiccup walked over to the man, but Cassandra grabbed his shoulder and dragged him back. She gave a cold look that said, "don't even think about it." Hiccup, caught up in seeing his invention, forgot the position he was in. The glare reminded him, where he was right now and nodded in understanding. The handmaiden loosened her grip.

"Why is that here?" Hiccup asked Cassandra. The Viking was sure any enemy weapons would be stored in somewhere...not so public.

"Cassandra brought it here. She was very interested in it and asked if I could replicate it.," Xavier said with a grin as Cassandra now sported a large blush. Hiccup looked to the lady in question with a smug smile.

"Oh, did she now?" Hiccup gave the lady-in-waiting a sly grin.

Cassandra, while still blushing, punched Hiccup in the arm. The Viking laughed in response.

Varian excitingly grabbed the pommel from the smith. Being an alchemist, the boy had been interested in the sword since he saw it. But this was the first time he got a hold of it, and Varian would not waste a second of his time as he examined his objective. Hiccup noticed the boy's behavior and silently chuckled. At least, he did until he saw that Varian was about to release the Zippleback gas.

"Varian don't touch that—"

_Click_

Hiccup tried to warn Varian about the trigger but was too late as Varian had activated the gas releasing mechanism.

"Everyone down now!" Hiccup shouted as he tackled Cassandra to the ground. Justin had done the same to Talia as Varian threw the device and jumped away.

After a moment, Hiccup heard nothing. No explosion or anything, save for Xavier's chuckling.

"I wouldn't worry about the gas. When I examined your weapon, I pressed the button and released the gas. Glad the forge was out. Otherwise, I'd have learned the hard way." Xavier said.

Hiccup was embarrassed as he got up. Justin was about to do the same but noticed Talia looked at him with a blush. Justin then realized what he did in instinct.

"Sorry," the knight said.

Talia gave Justin a mischievous face and laughed a bit at his embarrassment.

Hiccup wanted to laugh when he realized he did the same to Cassandra, who sported a neutral expression. The Viking held out his hand for her with a sheepish, and slightly fearful, smile.

"So, uh…about me tackling you—"

Hiccup found himself on the ground immediately with his arm twisted into a lock. Cassandra found no joy in being pinned down for a false alarm and promptly showed her feeling with an armlock.

"Got it," Hiccup groaned from the ground. "Never tackle you."

Cassandra let go of the Viking, who stretched his arm when he got up. Hiccup glared at Cassandra, who held a playful smirk. This girl was starting to remind Hiccup of Astrid back home more and more. And if the Viking were to guess, the handmaiden would be one for a fight, probably with an axe. It was best he kept to himself for now.

Varian walked over to Hiccup but stopped right next to Cassandra, who would prevent the Viking from grabbing his weapon.

"So...the gas," Varian said. "It's explosive, and you put it in capsules that are then placed into the pommel? Why? How? And what kind of gas is this?"

"Trade secret," That was all Hiccup said to Varian. The alchemist's questions had become increasingly annoying. The Viking needed some air right now and walked out of the tent. with a slightly angry Cassandra followed shortly, as did Varian, Justin, and Talia, but not before Varian gave back Inferno to Xavier.

* * *

Before Cassandra caught up to Hiccup, the Viking noticed he had some new looks at him. While before, no one gave him much attention, occasionally he could see either people whispering or looking away. Hiccup now realized how badly his situation was.

"You'd be surprised how much attention you get when you're being carried through on horseback here." Hiccup knew it was Cassandra, but he kept his back to her. "When I knocked you out, I tied you up and placed you on my horse. When people see someone like that in Corona, it means they're a criminal. Don't get me wrong, most of the thugs and convicts have found a place here, and they live happy because of Rapunzel. But…until she can tell the people that you may not find life easier here."

While Hiccup knew the handmaiden to be right, it hurt him a bit to see a town that didn't see him differently now, showing some defensive behavior around him. While nobody ran away at the sight of the Viking, in fact, some citizens could be seen giving him curious looks, it was likely not everyone would welcome him with a friendly face anymore. He couldn't make heads or tails of the situation. While Hiccup was still determined to return to Berk with the greatest of speed, it didn't seem right of him to leave as an enemy.

_Maybe Rapunzel could help. I mean, she can't just let me go, but she could do something._ Hiccup thought to himself. The way some people acted reminded Hiccup partially of his early teens. He drowned those thoughts out quickly as they came. Those days were no more.

_Maybe some air wasn't the best idea. _The Hiccup realized, _Or, perhaps I was thinking of something different._

For the first time, it dawned on Hiccup how much he missed home. He knew his chiefly responsibilities were in good hands; he had left the village in the people he could trust the most. However, Hiccup was restricted in his movements, and with that brought a sense of dread. What if he was to be convicted? He would stay in Corona with Toothless threatened to be found and possibly hunted.

_It's common for a knight to defend against raging dragons._

Sir Justin's word echoed in Hiccup's mind. He wondered what was out here even more. But any more thoughts were cut off when he noticed Cassandra stare.

"Something on your mind?" Cassandra asked in a slightly calm tone.

"I just…miss home," Hiccup sighed. before another thoguth spawned in his head. _Iwonder how Toothless is doing._

Cassandra nodded her head. She could understand the sentiment.

When Cassandra asked Hiccup what he would like to see next, she didn't think he wanted to look at the stores. However, Hiccup was slightly fascinated by the variety of trades and trinkets. Back on Berk, things had their charm, but one could only handle weapons, fish, and tunics. Occasionally, something different came, but it didn't always mean something good. Here, there were shops and markets of things Hiccup couldn't find in the archipelago. There were spices such as saffron, ginger cinnamon, pepper, and nutmeg. Each of them had the wind that knocked some dust into the air. Filling the square with a mixture of scents. There were no weapons or armorer, but in their place were sellers of shoes and utensils. Among the crowds, Hiccup could see various stands that sold a delicious selection of foods from across the lands. While in some cases, there were similarities, the Viking couldn't help at marvel at the site. So many shops with many different people buying.

"I must admit," Hiccup thought out loud. "It's nothing like the traders back home, but it's something."

"Must be nice to shop for things you don't have to pillage for," Cassandra snarked.

"Of course, if you don't mind the fact that we Viking also trade amongst allies and hunt more than we pillage," Hiccup snarked in return.

Cassandra nodded. It wasn't every day; she found someone that could keep up.

It wasn't long until Varian, Sir Justin, and Talia caught up. Sir Justin took a moment to view the market as well. He, along with Hiccup, enjoyed the view. Until they locked eyes and noticed each other. Talia gave a small chuckle, as did Varian, but Hiccup gave a gruff expression and walked toward the markets. He was still surly about the knight.

Cassandra followed behind as Varian and the others picked up the pace. With a quickening in his step, Varian caught up to Hiccup.

"So, yeah," the boy was still nervous. "this is the Market Square where you can buy anything. Well…except the right materials you need for your personal projects. You just never find that one…thing you really need and-"

"Varian."

"I mean…how else can you work if you don't have the proper materials. You need all the time and-"

"Varian!" This time, Cassandra used a louder voice with the same tone, and that got the desired effect.

"Yeah?" The boy didn't realize he drifted off course.

"I don't think Hiccup's listening."

Varian looked to see Cassandra was right. The Viking was lost in his own world looking around.

"Hey," Varian tapped Hiccup's shoulder to gain his attention. "do you want to see the best shops?"

Hiccup pondered the thought of Varian guiding him, but before he could answer, Cassandra pulled the boy away from the crowd.

"Varian, what are you doing?" the handmaiden wanted to know the reason for her friend's behavior. Cassandra didn't know why, but she became aware that Varian looked up to Hiccup. She didn't know why, and from how Varian acted, she began to worry.

"I'm just showing him around," Varian tried to be calm and collected on the matter. "And who knows the market better than me. I'm here whenever I hear of something interesting."

"And interesting is…?"

"Anything that could have alchemic properties that pertains to my research." Varian returned to Hiccup and the group. The Viking had an idea of why Cassandra pulled the boy back but didn't go into it further. No need for anymore suspicion.

"So," Varian gestured to the entirety of the market. "Where do you want to start?"

Hiccup could have said no but decided against it. Like the Vikings back home, Hiccup was drawn to new things, for better or worse. So, everyone followed Varian. Cassandra, worried for her friend, decided to keep a hand on her sword.

_Just in case.  
_

* * *

Varian started off with an herbalist's shop filled with plants of many varieties.

"Hello, Varian," the woman inside greeted. "Haven't seen you since…well…yesterday...probably. I have something that might interest you."

"Oh, Angeline, you know just what to say," Varian rushed up to the counter where the lady put something on top. Hiccup could appreciate flora, though he still had much to learn. He could remember studying the various forms it came in after some adventures and the talks he had with Fishlegs on the subject. The two could sometimes go on forever, especially when the topic of dragons was brought up.

Cassandra was not much of a flower girl, or really into anything one would call girly. And stood in the middle of the store.

Sir Justin browsed the many plants when he came upon a pretty yellow flower. Justin picked the flower and presented it to Talia. The lady giggled and blushed at the gesture as she took the plant.

"It's beautiful. Thank you, Justin."

Everyone else in the store smiled and awed at the couple. It was something straight out of a fairytale. Even Hiccup cracked a smile, the man knew what it was like to be in love.

Talia took the flower up to the counter, where Varian was analyzing a strange plant. Talia presented the flower to Angeline.

"Miss? What flower is this?"

Angeline looked to the plant with curiosity before she glanced at the knight and then the lady warrior. She chuckled and pointed to the plant.

"Dearie, that's Marigold. It symbolizes grief, despair, and jealousy. I doubt you want that flower."

Talia gave Justin a smirk with one eyebrow raised. The knight back away a step with his hands in front of him, but Talia laughed.

"Don't worry about it. I never expected you to know flowers."

Justin straightened himself and approached the counter.

"Then what would one give for love in good times?" Justin asked with a nervous smile that glanced at Talia.

"You should try Honeysuckle, Rose or Yarrow," Varian commented offhand. The alchemist found the new flora too fascinating to move. "They have a better message to say."

"And how do you know that?" Hiccup gave the alchemist a sly grin. "Got someone special in mind?"

Varian stood up with a fluorescent red blush. The boy couldn't bear to look anyone in the eye. Embarrassed, Varian asked to take some of the plants and paid Angeline. The alchemist then guided his friends to the next location.

"You know I was only teasing you, right?" Hiccup asked along the way, but Varian didn't listen. Hiccup felt a little bad for teasing him like that, but the Viking remembered those days in his youth.

Cassandra and Talia chuckled abit, while Justin didn't understand what Hiccup meant back in the shop.

* * *

Varian led the group to the fish market, to the confusion of everyone. Especially when they looked to Varian for confirmation.

"Uh, Varian," Justin placed a hand on the boy's shoulder. "I believe you said the best markets."

"Mm-hmm. Yeah," Varian responded.

"How is a store that sells fish one of the best places?"

"Justin, my friend, when you research alchemy, you discover what each ingredient can bring. It's like they say, alchemy started in the kitchen. And I am a wonderful cook." Varian dragged the group through. "And this particular area can have some exotic fish, the likes of which people don't normally see."

It was true. Some of the stands didn't the typical fish you would find in Corona like flounder, salmon, or trout. Some even looked deadly to the one with spiny fish to giant snake-like fish to fish that looked like stone. In fact, some shops occasionally had eel in their stands. Hiccup made a note to avoid them, he didn't need to smell of eel. Toothless would run from him in a heartbeat.

But the pattern of some eels looked familiar to Hiccup. But before he could get a closer look, Varian had dragged him to a stand near the end.

Anyone could tell the fish in this stand were not caught around Corona. There was a fish with spikes everywhere, one with a pattern similar to a skeleton, and a long, greenish-white fish. The seller there looked to be asleep, but once he saw the group, he sprang to life at the prospect of customers.

"Greeting folks," the elderly man with a wheezy voice." Looking for something delicious? Something fresh? Something…different?"

"See the stands near the end always have fish like this. Isn't this exciting?" Varian's body shook with glee as Hiccup, Cassandra, and Talia smirked while Justin tried to be understanding of the alchemist's excitement.

"Very," Cassandra deadpanned with a smirk. Talia nodded in agreement. And Hiccup feigned interest. While everyone was happy for Varian, they couldn't fake their un-enthusiastic behavior. Hiccup, however, once again found his attention on something familiar, it was the long, greenish fish.

Upon closer inspection, Hiccup saw light green to white markings among the green scales. The Viking drew a blank at the name though

"Ah, a special one that is," the seller proclaimed. "got it from a trader up North. Called it a Nice Tail Mike…or something like that. First time it's been brought to Corona, though."

Really!?" Varian could believe in the opportunity of a new fish species and the alchemic properties it could potentially have. "How much for one?"

Varian was so happy about the discovery and purchase of the fish, he didn't notice the stares from Hiccup. But Cassandras did.

"Is there something you know about that fish?" Cassandra may not trust Hiccup, but she could tell something was troubling him.

"It's called Ice Tail Pike," Hiccup replied. "And it's only caught in certain areas from where I'm from."

"Cause for alarm?" The handmaiden gripped her sword tighter.

"Not that I know of. I mean, if I got here, then who to say, someone didn't bring the fish all the way here? Or maybe it swam here. But...I had some enemies who were interested in it once."

"Why?" Cassandra didn't understand the importance of a specific fish.

"Bait."

The conversation reminded Hiccup about the eels too and walked over to Varian, but noticed the plants the boy bought as well. The Viking felt a sense of Deja Vu. This was getting crazier by the moment for the Viking Chief. While his trip to Corona may have been played by the gods, the odds of items from his home being sold here could not be a coincidence. Hiccup was wondering why he was here.

Sir Justin noticed Hiccup's expression, as well. It was hard not to now, but Varian's gasp interrupted him.

"I forgot," Varian announced. "There is one more place I have to show you."

* * *

The last stop on the market tour was an old shop that seemed to be filled with empty beakers and potions. The salesman at the front saw Varian and grabbed a broom.

"Varian out!" the man shouted with the broom handle jabbing the boy. "I remember the last time you came in here."

Varian gave the man a sheepish smile as he grabbed the cleaning implement.

"Last time, Mr. Cirle, I dropped an experiment. This time, I just need some beakers…and maybe some potions. I even brought some customers this time."

Mr. Cirle noticed everyone else and scurried back to the counter, but he kept a watchful and wary eye on Varian. The alchemist chuckled to his friends.

"I take it you're his number one customer?" Cassandra gave a sly grin to Varian.

"You could say that," Varian placed his recent purchases on the counter. Mr. Cirle cleaned the area around the items. "I sometimes bring some non-lethal trapping… mechanisms in case of danger."

"You brought that purple goop, didn't you?" Cassandra deadpanned.

"Purple…goop?" Hiccup looked to Varian with intrigue. Said 'goop' would have been produced or explained had not Mr. Cirle slammed the table with a resentful glare towards the group. Not wanting to anger the shopkeep, everyone went in separate directions. Justin and Talia looked to the potions set on the shelves, though not of them presented anything beneficial for an adventurer.

"Hey, Cirle," Talia called out. "You got anything for wounds?"

"Yes…they're called doctors." The elderly man replied with a fish-eating grin. "There's no potion that can heal a wound, much less what you're looking for."

"Perhaps a magician would be more helpful," Justin restrained Talia from walking towards the smug man. They didn't need a brawl nor a reputation for attacking the elderly, especially elderly shopkeeps.

"Fine," Talia jerked her arms free. "But please, not Melquiades. I can't handle his routine with Karolius."

"Fair enough m'lady," Justin chuckled. Talia gave her knight a kiss on the cheek.

Cassandra rolled her eyes at the couple. The gesture was cute, she wouldn't deny that. Varian patted Justin on the back as the knight turned to Hiccup, who gave a slight nod.

The Viking had looked to the books on the shelves. Alchemy was a strange new idea to him. Sure, it seemed similar to a smith, but that only entailed metal. Alchemy had a more sophisticated method, not to mention the number of ingredients and compounds that could be created. Hiccup remembered the day he saw Varian on stage and walked over to the boy.

"Hey, Varian? What was that new element you were talking about?"

Varian quickly dropped what he was doing and gave the Viking his undivided attention. Hiccup was a little unnerved at how fast the boy turned to him.

"It was a new metal. Stronger and lighter than iron. I call it...well, didn't have a name for it yet. Guess I kind of got caught up in the excitement that-"

"You didn't take the time to test or finish any tiny details that would've helped?" Hiccup felt déjà vu with Varian, as the boy nodded silently. Hiccup patted Varian on the head affectionally and smiled. "Once again, been there, done that, and it is still embarrassing sometimes. Even when I make something new."

"You still invent things?" Varian asked with hope in his eyes. Cassandra looked at the conversation with the understanding of why Varian had looked up to the Viking.

"When I can," Hiccup looked down with an empty heart. "Sadly, I haven't had much time to do that lately. Things are a little rough back home."

"Is everything alright?" Varian asked with concern, and that's when Hiccup realized he had to word his response carefully. Varian was not part of the Viking world, nor should he.

"We're Vikings. It's an occupational hazard." There was some mirth in Hiccup's voice.

"Well, if fighting is what you're concerned about," Varian reached into his bag to grab something, but a broom hit his hand that had brought out a purple orb.

"I told you, boy!"

When the orb hit the ground, purple goop had exploded around Justin, Talia, and Cassandra. Despite the sphere being able to fit in one hand, the compound itself had expanded to an exponentially larger size, as the goop had reached the three above their waists. Varian reached for his pocket again, but Mr. Cirle wouldn't have it.

"I told you to get out." The man was mad.

"But Mr. Cirle, I have the-"

"Get out of my shop. I'll clean up the mess."

"Now hold on," Hiccup stepped in between the two. "Varian here might have something to clean up the…goop. So, let him clean up his own mess. Isn't that the better idea?"

Hiccup and Mr. Cirle stared down one another in stubbornness. While the elderly man had every right to be angry, who wouldn't after someone made a mess in their shop, but it was a better idea to have Varian clean it up since he started it.

"Fine," the man huffed and walked back to the counter. Varian produced what looked like a salt-shaker with golden dust inside. After a few sprinkles, any trace of the compound was gone. Varian gave Hiccup a look of appreciation. Very few had stood up for him like that. Cassandra was in shock, not just at Hiccup's act but also because she was sure the Viking would flee at the chance. After making some purchases, the five-person group walked out of the shop. Cassandra looked around and saw that things were getting late.

"Come on Hiccup," Cassandra gestured for the Viking to follow. "I think we spent enough time touring. It's time to get back."

"Yeah," Hiccup nodded. Though he wasn't looking forward to going back to the cell. Justin offered to walk again with them, but before the two could answer, a couple of gruff men bumped into Varian and made him drop his goods.

"Watch it, kid," one of them said.

"No, you watch it," Talia retorted. "You bumped into my friend here."

The men turned around and stomped over to the group.

"What's it to you?"

Justin and Talia stood their ground and walked to the men. The two were not from around, as they seemed to be wearing leather with tunics. If anyone had inspected them, one could see some chainmail underneath too. They look groggy, dogged, and fierce, and they didn't appreciate the knight and lady warrior.

Cassandra ran over to Varian with fisted raised and a grin on her face. She turned to Hiccup to ask for help when she noticed he stared at the men. For on the clothes of the hostile men, there was a symbol Hiccup didn't expect to see, especially on men who were in Corona.

"Interesting crest," Hiccup commented. One of the thugs heard him and gave the Viking a manic grin.

"You like it?" the man challenged with a coarse voice that had an edge to it. "Well then, tell you what it is. A dragon."

"Must be special." Cassandra watched Hiccup as he spoke, as did Varian as well. Sir Justin and Talia kept their eyes on the men ready to defend their friends.

"Nothing special about a dragon," the men guffawed at Hiccup's words. "Not even this one."

"Now it must have some importance," Hiccup narrowed his eyes in suspicion. He did not like how the men were talking.

Before anything escalated, guards had already noticed the potential brawl and came over with halberds ready.

"What seems to be the problem?" one of the guards already took a stance aimed at the ruffians.

"Nothing at all officers," one the ruffians mockingly said. "We were just saying bye to our new friends here. Bye."

The men walked away, but they gave the group a sneer from aside. When the thugs disappeared, Varian, Talia, and Justin decided it was time they head back to the alchemist's home. Casandra and Hiccup agreed on the same, and they parted ways from the other with a wave.

The walk back to the castle was quiet. Cassandra now had suspicions about Hiccup again, especially with how the Viking acted with those men. It was if…"

"That was a Viking symbol," Hiccup said.

"What?" Cassandra replied with surprise.

"That dragon symbol is a Viking crest," Hiccup turned to Cassandra. He only really knew her for a few days at most, and that didn't just include their interaction today. But he had to talk to someone. Those men bothered him too much not to say anything. "specifically of a tribe, I know."

"Can you tell me what they're called?"

Hiccup hesitated for a moment, which the handmaiden caught onto. But before the Viking could answer, he found a hand placed in front of him.

"Alright, then later you'll tell me. But I think I get what you're saying. What kind of Viking would pass off their own crest like that? Am I right?"

Hiccup nodded in earnest fervor.

"So the question is 'who are they?'"

"Yep. And I have a feeling that's not the last we'll see of them," Hiccup looked to the woman next to him as she stared back. It's funny how a common idea brought some people together. And while Hiccup and Cassandra only had a sense of each other, they felt a small bridge of trust. "Cassandra—"

"Cass."

Hiccup looked to the lady strangely as she gave him a small but honest grin.

"Cass," She repeated. "Call me, Cass."

"Alright. Cass. Look, I'm being honest with you. I won't say the specific, until I fully trust you, Rapunzel…the people of this kingdom with my culture. There are things different, yes, but in more ways than you think. And those men just now, are not Vikings. Especially from the tribe whose crest they wear. In fact, no Viking would say anything about their tribe's crest. Whatever is happening now, more will come."

"Then we should tell the King, Queen, and Rapunzel," Cassandra quickly spoke as the two now ran a brisk pace back to the castle. Cassandra's hand had left the hilt of her blade.

* * *

Rapunzel was exhausted from the end of the meeting. So much so, that she went straight to her room to rest up before the dinner. She had crashed onto the bed when she heard Cassandra asking to enter. The princess got up when she listened to the request. The handmaiden never needed permission to enter. She was Rapunzel's best friend a worked with the princess personally. The doors opened to give way to Cassandra and Hiccup. At the sight, Rapunzel sat up straight with a happy grin.

"Well now. I see a tour around town had helped you make friends, Cass."

The smile on Rapunzel's face vanished as the two looked to the princess. Hiccup only had one thing to say.

"Princess Rapunzel, we have something to tell you."

* * *

**And another chapter posted after almost precisely a month. But I'm happy to post this. A big thanks to all the followers and readers for your patience. So now are starting to look serious. What will Hiccup say? How will Rapunzel react? The answer lies in the next chapter.**

**Reviews:**

**Guest: I'm afraid it wasn't Toothless, but We are inching away to when he finally appears.**

**Equilibrium -Grey: Nope, but we are getting there. **

**Mark Andrew(Guest): For Hiccup not explaining why he's a chief, I don't want to spoil why yet. So wait for a chapter or two more. Yes, imprisoning him is an act of war, but I don't think Hiccup would follow on making war from a misunderstanding. This Hiccup is after HTTYD 2. There will be people from 3, but I can't say for sure about the events. Especially with a crossover like this.**


	10. Honesty at Night

**Disclaimer: I own nothing. ****Dreamworks owns How to Train Your Dragon. Disney owns Tangled, Frozen, Sword in the Stone, and Brave. Sony Pictures Entertainment and Entertainment One distributed Justin and the Knights of Valor, but Kandor Graphics created it, so they own it.**

**This takes place after Tangled Ever After, How to Train Your Dragon 2, Frozen, Justin and the Knights of Valor, Brave, and The Sword in the Stone.  
**

* * *

Princess Rapunzel had gone through nervous noblemen and Indignant dignitaries all day in the second meeting. When it was finally over, she immediately headed to her private room. Exhausted as she was, some time to unwind would be, at this point, an order from the doctor. She laid on her bed, enjoying the soft comfort it brought.

"These meetings are not getting easier," Rapunzel groaned. Pascal, who never left her side, came from his hiding spot near her hair. The chameleon cuddled as a means to help energize the tired woman.

"You know, I may just have time to work on that painting some more."

The easel stood up with paint in the princess's hand when a knock on the door came. Rapunzel and Pascal thought it was Eugene and didn't give it a moment and started painting. Only when there was a second knock, was it registered as someone else. With an open door, Hiccup, and Cassandra walked through.

This was a pleasant surprise. After everything today, seeing the two walk together with not a sense of hostility, that mainly came from Cassandra, brought a smile to the princess's face.

"Well now, I think two people here made a new friend today," the princess beamed.

While she wasn't wrong, in the terms that there was a new sense of respect between the two, there was an eerie silence. Rapunzel placed the brush down and turned to the duo to notice alarmed expressions.

"What happened?"

After a while, Rapunzel sat down on her bed. Hiccup explained how, after a few errands with Varian, the group had bumped into a few thugs who had an unusual sense of apparel for Corona.

"So, let me get this straight," Rapunzel paced for a bit while Cassandra stood near her and Hiccup leaned on the wall. "You're saying that there are fake Vikings here?"

"Yes, they dressed the part, but shrugged off their emblem like it was nothing."

"Ergo, they only dress the part."

"Exactly."

"And how is this an emergency?" Rapunzel asked slowly. While the idea of people who sounded like thugs from the description, dressed up like Vikings seemed suspicious, there was no call for alarm. "Because I can't do anything about people who dress a certain way. Everyone has a different style here."

"Well...I mean...It's just...highly suspicious because no one has seen a Viking for 300 years, and suddenly, we see some men dress up like some to the detail," Hiccup explained, but part of him conceded that the princess was right. There was no cause for alarm if men decide to play dress up.

The point, while odd, did prove a need for suspicion, especially with the people on high alert after some explosions.

"I admit, people dressing up like Vikings may seem...a little out of the ordinary," Rapunzel walked up to Hiccup. "And I understand this is a concern for you, but how do you know you're the first Viking here after 300 years? I mean, what if those guys were from another tribe and just passing by?"

"Berzerkers? Passing by?" Hiccup was ready to guffaw. "I-pfft-doubt it. Any Berserker is full of warrior pride in a sense. They're as stubborn as most Vikings and will gladly fight. Especially if the odds are against them or if it's an enemy."

While the potential trouble is a noticeable factor, nobody but the actual Viking believed someone would fight for the sake of fighting. Then again, it is true that Vikings fight over small matters sometimes.

"Look, Raps, I know this seems like a small problem, but since everyone was at arms when we had these accidental explosions, maybe a little recon or higher alert would be...helpful?" Cassandra stepped in.

Rapunzel was surprised; not everybody could get her best friend on their side without reason or respect. And earning the latter was the more difficult task.

"Alright. Let's say that I send out an order for guards to be on alert for fake Vikings. What would happen next? I can't just lock them away for no reason," the princess took steps toward her window, but never took her eyes off the concerned man. "And how if these fake Berserkers are just men dressing the part, wouldn't their arrest make for bad publicity? People don't exactly like a princess that makes baseless arrests."

Hiccup wanted to talk, but Rapunzel was right. Things were starting to spiral out of control, and he wasn't sure how to handle these situations. Looking back, the Viking wondered how everything has led to this moment. First, a storm separated him from his tribe and home, not to mention the entire archipelago in general. Now, after days of traveling in whatever directions the gods guided him, the man is in Corona and somehow landed himself in jail for being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Now, the Viking is in the castle, in the princess's private room no less, trying to convince her of something that he perceived to be a threat. The man shook his head. When was the last time Hiccup got involved in political affairs with unknown civilizations? It had felt like years for him, and it was beginning to renew a sense of leadership in him—a quality he hadn't accessed in a while.

The princess of Corona had a gift for bringing out the hidden or buried qualities of people. Hiccup realized that now.

Rapunzel sensed Hiccup's shift in mood and tried to get a read on him. She knew he was trying to help, and the princess sensed more within him. But with The Grand Kingdom Meeting, every move she made for her kingdom would speak volumes of various factors to the visiting kings. Information was needed, and what could usually be considered a trivial matter, had become another piece of a strategy game. And they had to tackle each piece one move at a time.

"What can you tell me about the Berserker tribe?" Rapunzel asked.

"Well..." Hiccup felt like he was about to do something foolish—a classic move in his mind. "The chief is called Dagur who is married to Mala, who is the queen of another tribe—"

"So Vikings have queens?" the handmaiden interrupted. The princess was curious too. This had been a first to hear of royalty in the archipelago.

"This...particular tribe does. Every other has a chief."

"So Dagur is married to Queen Mala. Wouldn't that make him a king? I mean, he can't still be called Chief Dagur, right?"

Hiccup remained silent, which the princess understood the answer. To be fair, the Vikings didn't care about being called a king or chief, maybe if they had a massive ego. All that was necessary back home was to maintain a sense of order and keep the village intact. Mostly.

"Hiccup, while I would like to know more about your home," and Rapunzel _really_ wanted to talk more about the Viking's home. "But right now we need to discuss the fake Vikings and what to do about them. If they do present a problem, then the reveal of Vikings would put both of us in a tight spot. Am I correct?"

"Both?" Hiccup did not like how good this girl could read people.

"Well...if Vikings are discovered here, during The Grand Kingdom Meeting, Corona may be seen in a not so great kinda way. After all, we are this meeting's host," Rapunzel pointed to the one-legged man. "And I take it you don't want anyone coming up to your part of the world for whatever reasons you are hiding, right?"

What the princess said had hit home. If anything was to be assumed, it was that the archipelago didn't see much of new because most kingdoms believed Vikings to be gone. Except for nations like DunBroch, no one would journey up there and cause a ruckus. And Hiccup wanted to keep it that way.

Thinking about how to get back and keep things safe, made the Viking realize how homesick he had become. He missed everything, even the pranks the twins would occasionally play on the village that usually ended with at least something on fire. But there was also some concern. For despite the homesickness, there was still the threat of Drago Bludvist. Despite his disappearance almost a year ago, Berkians have fought with his forces and allies. There have been some victories, but Drago's philosophy was still evident in their enemies: the power of dragons and how that power can be applied.

If the hunters found someone who would share that idea, an outside force, then there would be more to this fight. And that scared the Viking chief.

Hiccup has admitted that dragons are powerful creatures, nobody could argue otherwise, but that doesn't mean weaponization is necessary. He spent a good portion of his life studying and understanding these benevolent, mostly creatures. Flying with dragons, discovering their part in the world and their habitats, and seeing what could come with coexisting with them. Hiccup didn't want any of that gone, and to see malicious people take these magnificent creatures and chain them down and armor them up against their will, it was devastating. Granted, he did find a dragon that liked the armor after becoming Chief of Berk.

At first, he, his tribe, and its allies fought back against the dragon hunters. An island full of Vikings and their allies on the backs of dragons, how could the dragon hunters oppose? That answer came in the harsh findings of Drago's associates, who filled his armies. While it was unknown where Drago came from, he had found like-minded tribes in the archipelago: Bashem Oiks, Hysterics, and Lava Louts. When Hiccup had first encountered each clan, he found Drago's philosophy to have a firmer grip in the farther reaches.

"You are correct," Hiccup replied.

"Then, if we are to understand this better, then I need a reason."

"A reason to-"

"A reason why you need to keep people out, besides a war. As you said, Viking will fight about anything."

The man mentally cursed himself. There was no reason besides war, for if the Vikings heard about prosperous kingdoms, then they would likely pillage and raid, which would reveal themselves. This would lead to expeditions to the north, and from there...well, only the gods would know. And right now, there was too much on Hiccup's list.

After witnessing the hostile characters that made up enemy forces, the chief became more hesitant to meet strange or new people of countries and tribes without some sense of suspicion. And right now, he found himself in another set of circumstances like before. A new world, with new people, and he found himself talking to one of their leaders. The only question was, what would happen next?

_Should I risk it? Things are different here, but what about the dragons? Justin said that knights fight dragons, …but does that mean they can't befriend them?_ Hiccup remembered how Berk fought the dragons when he was young and the events which lead to peace after he met Toothless.

_Toothless..._

If Hiccup were to worry about anything the most, it would be his dragon companion who still waited, hopefully, in the woods. Is he still hunting and foraging in the dense forest? Would he venture into the town if Hiccup ended staying longer? The worst thought in his mind was the idea of Toothless found and caught. The Viking shook his head to discontinue it. He didn't want that to happen.

As Hiccup explored his thoughts, Rapunzel talked about her own with Cassandra.

"Is he alright?" the princess whispered.

The handmaiden shrugged her shoulders. She had no idea what to think.

Though Corona's princess had read up on Vikings ever since the meal back then, she realized how little she knew of the man. The warriors are to be more ferocious and muscular. And the one-legged man before them didn't fit the description.

Rapunzel recalled the words he said about their similarity and the talk they had during the intermission. The two were different in comparison to their people. The princess, though crowned royalty and knew of her kingdom's people, was more free-spirited in contrast to most rulers. A fun family trait she found within some of her living relatives.

_Maybe there's more to his tribe than we thought._ The princess thought. She was a woman who considered herself friends to those that are willing to listen.

And while they could call themselves good acquaintances, she knew that Hiccup still had his secrets. And she had learned to respect that, but right now, the princess had to put her duties before intuition.

"Hiccup," the princess spoke gently, but with enough authority to snap the man back to Earth. "I know you want what's best for you're people and...wait, how high up are you?"

"How...high?" Hiccup had never heard this terminology before.

"What's your position in your tribe? What are you to them?"

That question met with silence...and some awkward hand gestures courtesy of the Viking. Rapunzel laughed despite herself.

"Let me guess, secret?" Rapunzel asked with some mirth, but she was aware of the seriousness and resumed talking with a more stern tone. "I assure you nothing will come to you for having some pull in your home. In fact, it'll probably make things easier."

"Even though I'm a man from a race of people who pillaged and raided, what may have been your people's home centuries ago?"

"I can't say for every kingdom here," The princess gave a not-so-sure look on her face and spoke with a neutral tone. "But as Princess of Corona, I can do something like an alliance."

"Are you sure that could work?" the chief asked hesitantly.

That was a good step in the right direction; something everyone in the room could agree. But it seemed to easy an answer, for that would mean the two may have to disclose more about each other's kingdoms. And with magic and its creatures the hot topic right now, that could lead to well anywhere.

"Of course, it will just think about it. You and the other Vikings can establish itself with other kingdoms and trade items or form military pacts not to attack each other-"

"But attack other Viking they don't agree with. As I said, we fight, and there is a big fight going on."

"One that you don't want to expand," Cassandra spoke now since she entered.

The chief realized what he implemented but did not seem surprised. At this point, it was evident that Rapunzel would have gotten him to divulge something. As long it wasn't about the dragons, Hiccup was okay with the situation.

"I see," Rapunzel spoke before anyone. She noticed the slight defensive posture the man in front of her adopted. "So that's why you didn't want to say anything. You don't want anyone contributing to your enemies."

"I'm sorry, but yeah. And that's why I want to leave. I can't drag anyone with me, even if it's people willing to be allies in the war. But don't worry, the Hairy Hooligans can handle anything thrown at us. And I am sure they are putting a vigorous defense in my absence."

The princess gave a small, warm smile to the man, but that didn't mean she wasn't concerned about someone going off to get themself killed. That's what war meant to her.

"Hairy Hooligans?" the handmaiden snorted. "I'm sorry, but is your tribe the one with the bad naming sense, or is that for Vikings in general?"

"It's more like Viking tradition," Hiccup admitted with a sheepish smile. "It's supposed to scare off trolls...the bad names I mean."

"Well, it could be worse," Rapunzel walked over to the door. "You should talk to my husband. He'd probably know all the nice names. He even gave himself one before we met."

Hiccup wanted to give a retort or witty remark on how a person from another culture would know about proper names for a Viking, but he could not recall who her husband is.

"Don't worry," the princess caught on to what the man was doing. "we'll have a proper introduction before you leave for home."

That brought a smile to his face.

"Now, I believe we may have gotten off-topic. The fake Vikings?" the princess and handmaiden locked their eyes at still in question, man. "Now, I asked before how high you are in your tribe. I wish to make a connection, that doesn't necessarily mean an alliance. It could be a peace treaty. You have those, right?" It was a simple, but required question Rapunzel received her answer in the form of a silent nod. "Great! Then please tell me what you are to your people."

Hiccup mentally cringed at the million-dollar question. To answer it meant revealing himself as chief and, more importantly, the people's dragon culture. He once again thought of his family, friends, and Toothless in the forests nearby. It must be answered, but how? Then, a thought came to the chief's mind.

_I don't have to reveal everything...do I?_

He glanced at the princess and handmaiden. Cassandra wore a cautious face with a hint of concern from her new respect. However, Rapunzel had a different expression. One that could be read clear as day.

_You can trust us, Hiccup._

Whether it was the unspoken words, the idea of Toothless outside, or the homesickness that made him speak, Hiccup gave his answer.

"I am...the chief of Berk."

Silent befell the room mainly because the chief spoke too softly for anyone to hear.

"What did you say?" Rapunzel asked. She took a step forward with a hand near her ear.

The Viking knew he didn't speak loud enough. This moment was not the time for hesitance. Here, he would have to lay his cards on the table and see what the gods will grant.

"Princess Rapunzel," he spoke at the proper level as he stood tall. "my name is Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III, Chief of the Hairy Hooligan Tribe of Berk."

Rapunzel took in everything now while Cassandra stood in the room speechless. Well…not really, but she didn't know whether the revelation was good or bad, but that was how politics were.

The princess took a few steps around the room, but her eyes never left the chief.

"So…you're a Viking Chief?" the princess asked no one. She merely said that out loud to confirm. "Huh...I did not expect that."

In all honesty, Rapunzel was a bit unnerved by the revelation. She had seen Hiccup as a friend, but now that he was a Chief, one of the Viking tribes, this brought new implications. By imprisoning him, a foreign diplomat, uninvited or not, with even the slightest bit of good intentions, though that was debatable at the moment, could cause serious ramifications. According to the history books, Vikings were more throw an axe at the skull first and pillaged later.

_I've been telling the truth when I told you I'm lost. There is no other reason why I am here. I had nothing to do with the explosions. And all I want is to return home. _Rapunzel thought back to those lines.

"It all makes sense now," Rapunzel spoke that particular thought, and the next, out loud. "Wait! If you're a chief, then why haven't we've seen any other Vikings? In fact, what were you doing all by yourself to get lost in the first place?"

The princess stared at Hiccup. This predicament was unusual, especially since now she knew of Vikings. She took a seat with a deep breath. However, before the man could give any response, Eugene stumbled through the door along with a white horse and two guards.

"What the-!?"

"Eugene? Max?"

"Oh, you got to be kidding me!"

Rapunzel, Cassandra, and Hiccup were shocked to see him, the guards, and a horse all sprawled into a pile on the floor. It was painful to watch, and especially so for the guards and Eugene who were under the horse.

"What are you doing?" Cassandra asked as she smacked her face in exasperation.

Eugen, along with the guards and horse, got up and dusted himself off.

"To be honest, I was looking for Rapunzel. Then I saw you and Hiccup running up the stairs, which was surprising for a peg-legged Viking, and decided to listen in." Eugene turned to Hiccup and spoke with a solemn tone. "I have to admit; I did not see that coming. I mean…finding out Vikings still exist is one thing, but you're also a chief? Those can not be reasonable odds. But I am curious as well about why you're here, alone. And what's this about fake Vikings? Who would want to dress up like them?"

"Eugene," the princess spoke playfully and looked at her husband with a hint of mirth.

"What I'm serious," the man smiled but noticed that the only Viking in the room looked at him funny. Before long, the prince noticed his words. "I mean it looks good on you, so of course, you'd dress like a Viking. I mean, what Viking wouldn't?"

At the ex-con's words, Hiccup dryly chuckled. He was starting to wonder when he'll say anything.

"Calm down Eugene," She grabbed his hand before looking at Hiccup. "So, why didn't you say anything about being a chief? If you told us you were the leader of a kingdom, country, or tribe, we wouldn't have arrested you and instead give help."

The chief didn't know what to say of how to answer that. He looked to Cassandra for clarity, who nodded and then to the guards, they did the same. The horse in the room, to which the man wondered why it was here, was nodding as well. Pascal, who made himself hidden till now, sat on top of the head of the horse. But the lizard just had his arms crossed with a smirk.

At that moment, Hiccup was sure he found some who might match Toothless for wit or personality.

"Let me get this straight, even though I'm a Viking, someone whose ancestors would raid and pillage these lands centuries ago, because I'm a chief, I have some…I dunno, privilege?"

Everyone in the room nodded, but they did so warily. He did have a point.

"Even though I what I just said? Are you serious?"

And again, everyone nodded.

"Now that I find hard to believe. I'm pretty sure if a Viking chief showed up in any other kingdom, and they knew his position, they would lock him up."

"I have to agree with that," Eugene said after a moment of silence, to the annoyance of Rapunzel. "But Corona isn't like most kingdoms."

"As far you know," Hiccup gave an unconvinced stare.

There was no proof of other kingdoms like Corona, something the royal couple had to concede. For now.

"Hiccup…Chief Haddock," Rapunzel corrected herself. Her tone was full of authority and commanded the attention of the room. "while that may be true, Corona will not give you an inhospitable welcome just because you are a Viking chief. And as proof, I, Rapunzel, Princess and future Queen of Corona, hereby pardon you of your accusations and give you the freedom to return home after we have everything sorted out, including the fake Vikings. I'll even get you a map. Does that sound like something every nation would do?"

Rapunzel gave the stunned Viking a small smile. The guards and animals had dropped their jaws, while Cassandra wasn't sure about the move. Eugene, who was more used to Rapunzel's behavioral pattern, chuckled and patted Hiccup on the back.

"Trust me. Rapunzel here is one of the most free-spirited people you'll ever meet. But she doesn't do this for anyone," Eugene walked beside Hiccup. "If I were you, I try speaking. I find it helps move things along."

Hiccup moved his mouth but spoke not a word.

"I know we still have a lot to talk about, but it seems that you have a lot to say, and I think it's best if we wait tomorrow when we have more time," Rapunzel spoke before anyone and walked to the Viking chief. "Is that alright with you?"

Hiccup nodded.

"Good," the princess guided Hiccup to the guards. "Take Hiccup here to a spare room. If there is still suspicion, then just guard the room. I'll my father know of my decision. No one is to know of Hiccup's true title until further notice," Rapunzel turned to the Viking chief. "I take it this is your last night here, so at least sleep comfortably, instead of a jail cell."

Hiccup decided this was good enough. He turned to the princess and gave a smile as the guards escorted him. Now he was free to go back to Berk and take of problems back home. But before he left...

"By the way, Princess Rapunzel," Hiccup gave the room his undivided attention. "I simply did get separated from my tribe, but I still must speak to you about the fake Berzerkers. For as ferocious as they are, I've known them to a most trusted ally. And any real member of that tribe would recognize the chief, who is called 'brother' by theirs."

"Now that's some proof. But we'll get to that tomorrow. Goodnight, Chief Haddock," Rapunzel went to close the door behind. "We'll talk more about this tomorrow."

"It's just Hiccup really," the chief never was one for formality. But what Viking was?

As the guards escorted the now guest down the halls, no one noticed the eyes of specific individuals who caught sight of them. Upon view of the one-legged Viking, one of them dragged the other away, as not to be seen.

"Isn't that the man under suspicion for the explosions?" asked the man. "A rapscallion, a savage he is. Wouldn't you say so?"

"I'd say we have a Hiccup in our midst," the other said with a conniving grin. _One that will surely make plans go smoothly.  
_

* * *

**I've been waiting to write this chapter for a while now. And after all this time, effort, anxiety, and maybe some sweat and tears, it's done. It's been bothering me that I couldn't write Hiccup as chief, mainly due to how he wasn't acting like one for the moment. Now things will get interesting. Hmmm...I wonder what this means for The Grand Kingdom Meeting? And more importantly, when will Toothless finally make another appearance? I'm really starting to miss that dragon.**

**Thanks for reading, and have a good day and stay safe.**

**A special Thanks to Flower Princess11 for helping me.**

**And a special thanks to my sister for her help as well.**

**Thanks to everyone who read and/or reviewed this story.**

**Equilized Enigma: Well, I'll be paying extra attention to keep things linear. So hopefully, no more emotional roller coaster rides.**

**German Bear: I'm not sure if Hiccup would levy for trade agreements right now. With tensions at a political gathering like this, there has to be a time when one is sure not to have a knife aimed at them.**

**Guest(1): Thanks!**

**GIANTPANDAMAN: I low key ship Hiccup and Cass as well. It seems nice. But no real ship for now sadly.**

**Hilko Salomons: Thanks!**

**Guest(2?): I am happy you like the actress who voiced Talia in the films, but may I ask you to refrain from posting that same review six times? It seems excessive.**

**Guest(3): Everything is fine right now, thankfully. But with current events, it is still concerning about the virus.**


	11. A Last Day

**Disclaimer: I own nothing. ****Dreamworks owns How to Train Your Dragon. Disney owns Tangled, Frozen, Sword in the Stone, and Brave. Sony Pictures Entertainment and Entertainment One distributed Justin and the Knights of Valor, but Kandor Graphics created it, so they own it.**

**This takes place after Tangled Ever After, How to Train Your Dragon 2, Frozen, Justin and the Knights of Valor, Brave, and The Sword in the Stone.  
**

* * *

Morning came with the shining of the sun's rays, waking up anyone who forgot to close their curtains, except for King DunBroch, who could sleep through a storm. The night went by smoothly and quietly as everyone started with their morning rituals.

Anna had managed to wake up before her sister, a feat rarely accomplished, and had exited her room quietly where she ventured down the hallways. There, she found Merida, awake with wild hair that could be confused for bed head.

"Morning Princess Merida," Anna said with a graceful bow. "I take it you're well-rested?"

"Yes, I 'ave Princess Anna," Merida replied with an overdramatic curtsey. "Thank ye for noticin'."

The two redheads went into a fit of giggles as they walked to wherever they felt like. Somehow, after what was days of surprises and arguments, the two had managed to become fast friends. If anybody were to guess why it would be due to their shared enjoyment of freedom. Though being members of royalty certainly helped with privileges that would allow them to enjoy a sense of freedom. Plus, Anna has been curious about Merida's culture and vice versa.

The two had made their way down to the garden when they saw Rapunzel and Eugene with King Fredric and Queen Arianna.

Anna and Merida went over to pay their respects to their hosts when they caught wind of the conversation.

"A Viking chief!?" King Fredric got up from his seat, but his wife guided him back to the chair. "And you're sure of this?"

"Dad, Hiccup told me so himself that he was chief. There's no reason he would lie about it."

"There is always a reason to lie, the only trick is to find out how and why they are willing," The Coronian king was not in the mood for this. While he knew the length his daughter would go for others, she had stirred up the assembly and turned the debate into a series of presentations. While it was rare for the kingdoms to agree on a matter, that didn't mean there was no tension or arguing whittling at the thin line of peace.

And now the man they had under custody Is not only a Viking but the chief of his tribe. The king didn't like this.

"Dad," The princess kept talking with her casual tone. "If Hiccup wanted to curse trouble, he'd have done so already."

"Didn't we take him in because he was around the pub that exploded?" King Fredric asked with a stern face with an eyebrow raised. "Not to mention, Sir Justin witnessed him running from the explosion in the town square."

Rapunzel looked to her mother, who shrugged. Fredric made a good point, and any detonation of anything, especially buildings and public areas, was not something to take lightly.

Although Varian was known for his experiments when they went wrong.

"What's this about a Chief?" Anna asked, revealing herself and Merida. The royal family of Corona was slightly surprised at the new voices. Fredric had been sure he wasn't incredibly loud.

Arianna surveyed the area for anymore prying ears, and Rapunzel was a little embarrassed that the conversation had accidentally invited some guests. Though she should have considered somewhere other than the garden to talk about this topic, most of the visiting dignitaries were eating in other locations.

Plus, the princess did formally request to speak with her parents privately. So it was assumed anyone would be stopped by guards, who were embarrassed by the intrusion.

The two red-headed princesses stared with the family until the brunette princess offered some chairs. There was no point in hiding these facts now that they heard.

"Well, you see...it turns out Hiccup is a Viking Chief back home," Rapunzel explained with a delicate voice.

"Wow, what's going to happen now?" Anna asked with an eye on the food.

"That's the problem," King Fredric said. "While he does fit the requirements to be seen as a foreign leader, the fact remains that we placed him in custody under suspicion and no solid evidence of his...well actions. At this point, he holds the advantage and could be right in declaring war at worst."

"Dad, relax. Hiccup isn't the kind of person to do that," Rapunzel said. But her father's deadpan stare made her say, "I think."

"So…he's a Chief?" Merida asked innocently. "What tribe?"

"Hiccup said…Hairy Holligan Tribe," Rapunzel took a sip of tea. "Why? Do you know of his tribe?"

"No," Merida gave the name some thought. "But me father might."

Immediately, King Fergus was called for and entered the garden. The Highland king was not one to take kindly at waking up, especially for the morning hours. It was when the guard said that King Fredric had called for him for help that the large king got up as Queen Elinor stirred awake from the bed shifting. He and his wife got dressed as were escorted to the breakfast table where plates of hot food were prepared.

Though that didn't mean the Celtic king did not sport a disheveled morning face, which intimidated some of the guards as he walked by.

"King Fergus, thank for coming in this early hour on short notice," King Fredric stood up to greet the man, though the groggy king sat down. "But I am now hearing from my daughter that the Viking we've had under custody is a chief of a clan. Your daughter here suggests you can help."

"I've been fightin' Vikings fur a long time. I'll give ye what ah can," The large man replied. "Although, Ah wouldn't say that wee laddie is a Viking', too scrawny."

"Alright then—"

"If we're going to get anything done," Queen Arianna interrupted. "Let's get the king and queen some breakfast. I know I can't start the day without it."

"A grand suggestion, yer majesty! No man can wark on a boss stomach," Fergus graciously started on a meal as everyone sat down.

Anna, who hadn't said a word, sipped on her tea in awkward silence as she watched the table.

Fergus had just finished a plate within a quick, and surprisingly mannered, for Coronian standard, fashion.

"So…Vikings," Rapunzel asked Fergus.

"Ah, ne'er a more stubborn or ferocious bain a warriors. We've bin fightin' the lot fur many a year, but nae away them can reach th' mainlands sae easily." Fergus had another plate placed in front of them. "Sae, Ah can not tell ye abit every tribe, but ask awa', an' Ah will answer."

"Alright. How about…the Hairy Hooligans?" Rapunzel went straight to the point.

King Fergus took in the princess's words, processing them with each bite. First, he looked to the sky in thought, but with each chew, the man slowly glanced at the table, then to Rapunzel. He didn't seem concerned, frightened, or any combination.

"So, Hiccup is chief o' th' Hairy Hooligans," King Fergus spoke like he was reading lines to his audience. Everyone leaned in for anything, but King Fergus said nothing and went back to eating. After a minute, everyone nervously went back to the meal, but then Fergus rolled backwards laughing, his voice roaring through the castle. Everyone jumped away from the man like he had just brandished his sword.

"Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha!" the Celtic King rolled onto his side and helped himself up. "That wee lad is Chief of Berk?"

King Fergus calmed down and sat back down at the table, as everyone went back as well. Except for Rapunzel.

"Ah….sorry 'bout dat about dat, but de chief o' Berk is Stoic the Vast. Not some wee toothpick."

"Stoic the Vast?" Rapunzel asked like she hadn't got the truth.

"Ah. OH, Stoic the Vast, hear his name and tremble.," Fergus took another bite of food he chewed and shallowed before resuming. "De feller is de stuff o' Viking legends. I've na met 'im, but ay 'ear that when 'e was a scallie, 'e bashed 'is head against a boulder and crushed it into wee pebbles."

"Crushed a boulder with his head as a…scallie?" Anna asked.

"A wee child," Merida whispered.

"Can all Vikings do that?" The idea of a colony of warriors that could perform such brutish acts of strength frightened King Fredric.

"Fredric, I think the boulder crushing applies mainly to Stoic. I mean, Vikings are formidable, but I think only the toughest could achieve something like that. Especially at a young age," Queen Arianna assured her husband of any thoughts of mighty armies. It was just basic statistics.

"I have to agree with the Queen," Fergus said as another plate is brought forth. "Not all Vikings are that tough. Only a wee few kin perform such feats."

King Fredric was alarmed but somewhat confused, as was his daughter.

_If Stoic was the chief, why didn't Hiccup mention him? _Rapunzel thought as she took another bite.

"Do you know why they left?" The Vikings?" King Fredric asked.

His eyes stared at his food, fear was evident in his posture. For what would make such fierce warriors stay in one place for centuries. And while the man could tolerate the Viking, he couldn't exactly trust the foreigner, not one who kept his position of power a secret.

The Celtic king scratched his beard as he searched his mind for an answer, but shrugged as none came. "Can't say."

This worried the king as the unknown 'ally,' or associate, in this case, could be a more significant threat than a known enemy. While it was made apparent that Hiccup was not the image of a standard Viking warrior, Fredric had to wonder how he came to be the leader of his tribe. If what King Fergus said were to be accurate, Stoic would have to be made of the stuff of legends to have the kind of reputation to reach the lands of DunBroch Kingdom. Small or not, there would be a value of strength in the Viking world.

"But ay will say this," King Ferguson gave the table a stern look. The likes of which made some guards tremble and others step back a few. "Whatever it is that drove them away, has kept them in the archipelago for years. It can't be good."

With that, the rest of the meal was silent. Rapunzel pondered about Stoic while Merida and Anna ate in silence. They only communicate with a few pointed glances away before they were finished and excused themselves.

"Still can't believe Vikings are still alive," Merida said as she strolled through the hallways with Anna. "I always thought mae dad and his forces drove them off."

"Yeah...do you think this means there will be an alliance between your people and them?"

While Princess Anna was curious, she couldn't help but giggled at the contorted face the Celtic princess was making. After a few moments, the laughter died down, though one of the red-haired princesses was still snorting.

"Ye do realize the way fowk make peace is through marriage, right?" The DunBroch princess deadpanned, there was no joy in the idea of being set up for marriage again. And she had just changed that tradition, with help from her mother. The last thing needed was the prospect of more suitors.

The princess of Arrendelle abruptly stopped her snickering and offered something on her plate as an apologetic gesture. "Sorry."

While the Celtic princess took nothing, she wouldn't hold the idea of aligned marriages over Anna's head. Arrendelle's princess didn't understand her predicament. Though since they only knew each for a few days, Merida had not told the princess everything. Just some of her past excitements. Though she did leave out the suitors within her kingdom and previous meetings, which didn't go as planned.

"It's alright," Merida replied. "Besides, who would want tae marry a bloke they jist met?"

Now Anna was frozen stiff as she choked a bit on air.

"You alright?" Merida asked.

"Peachy," Anna grinned sheepishly before cluttering out. "Well, I should look for Elsa. She needs to know this since well we live near the archipelago. And if they invade you guys, they'll probably reach Arendelle soon. Bye"

"Alrighty then," the Celtic princess said. "I'm gonna take a wee gander around the castle."

As the two parted ways, Anna searched for her sister, Elsa. She tried her room first, but had been told by the guards nearby it was empty. The princess asked where the queen had gone, but they didn't have a clue. It was unusual since the ice queen didn't have much business with the other nations.

Through the hallways, room, and dignitaries, did the princess search for her sister. She asked people along the way for any sign of her with only a handful pointing the way.

At last, Queen Elsa was seen along a line of windows, seemingly gazing at the view.

"Elsa!" Anna waved to her sister as she walked over. "You'll never guess what I heard."

* * *

Rapunzel took a seat in the war room, though not because of any coming conflict but of the privacy it provided. Not to mention part of her loves the miniature model of Corona on the table. Pascal especially took delight in having fun with it, when nothing was attacking the kingdom. Made him feel more significant. She had just gotten comfortable when a knock on the door came.

"Come in."

Opening the door, Eugene came in with a tray of small sandwiches that he placed between himself and his wife as he sat down.

"Thought we might need some snacks. You sure it's alright if we don't hear the full story?"

"Eugene, it'll be fine," the princess placed her hand on top of her husband's. "Even if he doesn't tell us everything, that doesn't mean he's hiding an invasion. I think he'd need more help to hide that."

Another knock came rapping at the door.

"Ready?"

And with a swing, their guest, Hiccup, came walking through the door. Only this time, he came acting as Chief of Berk.

For a moment, their eyes met before Hiccup glanced at the sandwiches with a hand on his stomach.

"Hungry?" Eugene held the tray closer to the man.

"Thanks," the chief was genuinely grateful. "I just got up."

"Sorry about that," Rapunzel replied sheepishly. "I just got done talking with my father and King Fergus. And wanted to straighten everything out as soon as possible. I hope this wasn't an inconvenience."

The two men eyed each other. If there was one thing everyone could enjoy, save for the morning person that was the princess, it was sleeping in, especially on such comfy beds. The Viking man chuckled as he remembered waking up moments ago.

* * *

Hiccup had spent years living among his people in the archipelago. Life was rough, and everything, save for a few things, was just as the like. The food was tough, most things were made out of metal, and the beds were wooden frames with blankets and pillows being the only comfort. So when the chief woke up in a bed with a mattress, he could honestly say that was the best sleep he had in ages.

"I should ask exactly how these are made. I know some folks back would enjoy this," the man said as he tested the softness. "Gothi and Gobber definitely would enjoy this."

Opening the doors, Hiccup took note once again of the surrounding. It was hard to believe just yesterday he walked through the halls escorted under suspicion,.And the day before that, he was in the dungeon. He was pretty sure the gods were at hand here. Hopefully, not Loki, god of mischief, as that would lead to unexpected trouble in the worst way.

Before he could take a step, a couple of guards had made their presence known from a stern "ahem." They had spears held by their side but not pointed at the prisoner-turned-guest.

"Chief Haddock," one of the guards spoke. "The Princess had us stationed here to lead you to her when you awoke."

"So, I take it I'll be going to see her now," Hiccup was not really used to be called by his title. Or of any civility like this before. Vikings rarely used titles, and most just called him by name. Even the other chiefs did the same.

* * *

"Let's just say, there is a good chance no Viking has been treated this way in over 300 years," the chief said sarcastically.

"Funny. From what I read, I don't think they were ever treated this way," the princess quipped.

Everyone in the room laughed in agreement. And while a good jest always did great at breaking the ice, it was time to commence formalities.

"So, you really were separated from your tribe? And found yourself here in Corona?" Rapunzel got right to the point. Despite hearing this the previous evening, it still was a long shot. One that would only be made from a million attempts.

"Yes. A storm suddenly appeared, and I found myself cut off from my friends and family," Hiccup took another sandwich.

"On a boat?" the princess had thought over the details and realized the one thing Hiccup overlooked.

Despite his best efforts to hide the dragon heritage added to his people, the Viking forgot that on a flock of dragons, one can get split from the group. The same could not be said for a ship, where many would work together navigating the seas.

With a loud gulp, eyes were on the foreign man.

"Well...the boat...was struck by lightning. Blasted it to bits really," Hiccup lied. "I ended up drifting to shore on unknown water. From there, well, I ended up taking the wrong direction."

"Really? You walked all the way from where you drifted to Corona?"

"Yes," at this point, the Viking was sweating beads. "Well, I hitchhiked here and there."

Eugene slowly took a bite of another sandwich as Corona's princess stared down Berk's chief. However...

"Alright," Rapunzel accepted the answer to the man's relief.

Hiccup didn't know whether to believe her or not, but he dodged an axe, so he left it at that. However, that didn't mean things were simple.

"So I take it at some point we can form an alliance? Maybe start with boundaries so we can be prepared for whatever this...Drago may send our way?" the princess asked with an endearing tone.

There was a reason why. A pact. Though it was a good idea, and that did sound great, there was a significant problem. Bludvist made use of armored dragons with his men. And even if Hiccup convinced the people to reinforce their defenses with anti-air artillery, with no idea of what would come could lead to devastation.

A leader he is, but not one that charismatic.

However, all thoughts were sliced in half upon the arrival of a guest. One who had somehow managed to walk into the room without making a sound. Or somehow alerting anyone.

"Am I interrupting?" the young king Arthur asked.

"Your Majesty, no! No, no, not all," Rapunzel got up from the table to properly greet the boy king. "Is there something you need?"

The young king took a few steps into the room, his eyes studying the various objects decorating the area. He had taken a seat at the table when he glanced at Hiccup. The Viking was unable to process how to go about this situation. For all he knew, he just needed to give the boy some space.

"You look different than the ones in my books," Arthur gave the chief a curious look.

"I'm sorry. What now?" Hiccup noticed the looks the knights that guarded the young king giving him funny looks. "I mean, what do you mean, your majesty?"

"The books I read about Vikings described them much differently than you."

Rapunzel and Eugene share a moment to silently snicker at Arthur's words. The princess could recall how King Fergus didn't believe Hiccup was a Viking before and wondered if this was going to be a regular occurrence.

The chief wanted to defend himself, or try to tell the child king about how not all Vikings are the same, but the princess beat him to the punch.

"King Arthur, I don't think Chief Haddock here is like the other Vikings. In fact, he's a bit of a hiccup."

Fitzherbert had to take a moment to compose himself. He noticed the exasperated state his wife was receiving from her little joke. It was quite funny, even the 'hiccup' of a Viking found some merriment.

"Chief?"

And the moment died. Everyone had forgotten that while it was common knowledge their visitor was of a warrior race, no one knew of his title. This could bode terribly for young Arthur. While he was of kind heart and intelligence, the child still had much to learn about the play of politics. And that's what was worrisome, as one misspoken word can lead to catastrophe.

The guards beside the child king gripped their weapons with wary eyes on the chief.

"Oh, that's right, Princess Anna said you were a chief," Arthur commented.

And the room stopped as no one could believe what they just heard. Apparently, Anna is a terrible secret keeper.

Your Majesty, when did Anna tell you about Hiccup being a Viking, by the way?"

Arthur started on how he was talking to Queen Elsa about trade agreements after hearing she had disengaged a previous partner kingdom, Wealston. They had made some progress, though the queen was a bit hesitant talking business with a child.

He could remember the exact words Arendelle's princess said.

"Elsa! You'll never guess what I heard! Remember Hiccup? The Viking? Turns out he's a chief of one of the tribes up north. Can you believe it?"

It was only when the younger sibling stopped and noticed how her sister was looking at her. Arthur didn't understand what Else was doing, stating she had a weird smile on as she made a cutting motion with her hand near her throat with a shaking head.

From there, the queen and her sister left to talk about a small matter.

"I wonder if she was alright," Arthur said to the amusement of his audience.

Arthur had been a fast learner with the structure and basic rules and regulations. But being a king, that was a different matter, and the boy had to take everything in strides.

"King Arthur," Eugene said as he got to walk to the boy. Only to turn back into his seat as the guards gave him unwelcoming eyes. "I think you need to learn there more things going into politics. Trust me, it is not easy to understand. From what I've seen so far, I have been better off leaving these things to my wife."

Rapunzel gave her husband a mischievous little stare.

"Who could probably teach you something without all the strings attached."

Arthur rubbed his chin as he stared at the prince. It wasn't a piercing gaze, but the innocence in the young king's eyes did make Eugene feel awkward. It was like he was looking up to him, and that's what bothered him.

"What strings?" the boy asked, and Rapunzel and Hiccup went into a snorting, chuckling fit as Eugene groaned. Young Arthur had a lot to learn still.

"I think that is a lesson for another time," Corona's princess said as she straightened up properly. "Was there something you needed besides the chief?"

"Well...I want to know what Vikings are like. As I said, I've read books, but they are about centuries old. I want to know what changed," King Arthur stated with a little stutter here and there.

Hiccup looked to the king and then to the prince and princess as they glanced at him. Now it was the chief's turn to talk apparently.

"What did the books say?" the Viking asked.

"Well, they did say anything, but there were stories of Vikings raiding kingdoms with weapons and shields. That you were ruthless, skilled, fierce warriors that could fight with the rage of ten men."

"Hmmm...sounds about right. For a certain tribe, I know. The Berzerkers," Hiccup replied as he took a sandwich. The young king was making him nervous enough to stress eat. He had no idea how to interact with the child without making the guards uneasy.

"Berzerkers? Is that your tribe?" Arthur asked innocently.

Hiccup choked a bit on his food. Rapunzel went over to pat him on the back as she answered for him.

"Hiccup's tribe is called The hairy Hooligans, right?"

The now coughing Viking nodded as Eugene took the plate of sandwiches out of his reach.

"What kind of a name is Hairy Hooligan?" King Arthur asked as he rubbed his chin. "do all Viking name their things like that?"

Questions like these went on for the next few minutes. They seemed to be endless as the young king had boundless curiosity. They ranged from basics, like how they have managed to stay alive, to more puzzling details, such as why one would name a mace.

Sadly the same amount of stamina could not be found in the answering chief and royals, who wondered how a child could have so many questions.

By the end of the questions, and after the young king was sated with what he learned and left, the chief had collapsed while the royal couple caught their breath.

"That was exhausting!" Rapunzel slumped in her chair with a glance at Hiccup, who was none the better. "I guess we have a lot to more to do today before you can properly leave."

"I wonder Loki will throw at us next," the Viking thought out loud. Which he got his next answer in the form of more knocks at the door. With a groan, the man wondered why he asked the question. "I won't have to ask any more questions, right?"

"Only if you attend, I think," the princess answered. "Though that won't stop people from asking questions if they're curious."

"Oh, Thor," Hiccup moaned as Eugene passed the tray around. There wasn't much time as a knock was heard from the door and a request to come in. After a few moments of tiding up their appearances, the princess allowed the doors to be opened with a couple of surprising faces.

"Queen Gloria and Sir Justin," Rapunzel greeted. "Is something wrong?"

"I just came by to tell you that the next presentations and debates will begin shortly," the queen explained before turning to Hiccup. "And Sir Justin here had some questions for this gentleman, right here."

The knight looked at the chief with a puzzled expression, but it was returned with a somewhat disdained face.

"Then I suppose we will have to continue our discussion another time, Che-Hiccup," the princess corrected herself. She didn't want to unwittingly have another guest interrogate the Viking.

* * *

The assembly went by at a rather dull pace. Though Mr. Khan, who had been quiet the past meetings, proposed no plan but talked to others about his discovery. He would exchange seats every now and then, talk, then move again in repetition. Many of the dignitaries believed he was blowing smoke and decided to leave him alone. However, there were some with various ideas of contraptions in which the kingdoms could capture anything magical. It was during a few moments that a few members of the audience saw the man studying the blueprints and plans. While it was no mystery he agreed with the idea of capture and conquer. It was odd how he complimented some diplomats who didn't agree with his views, such as the Queen of Gabylonia, with a strange glint in his eye.

Rapunzel studied the man when she was sure he wasn't looking. When the meeting went for an intermission to allow everyone to stretch their legs and eat, the princess took a walk towards the garden for a little peace and quiet.

"Rapunzel! Wait up," Anna called out with Elsa in tow. The red-headed princess caught up only to heave a little as she got to her cousin's pace. "Sorry...these meetings...can be so...exhausting."

The sister queen wanted to give a few words of encouragement, but the younger sibling was right. While not physically exhausting, the task of arguing with everyone after a presentation was more tedious than running all around Corona. All she could do was hold up the young princess as they walked towards the castle garden.

"Definitely! These presentations are...something, huh?" Rapunzel exclaimed as she walked on the grass.

"Says the princess who started all this," Elsa quipped.

With eyes of mischief and playfulness, the ice queen looked away from her cousin's stare.

"You know, I don't think Arendelle has presented anything yet," the brunette girl said coyly. "Could it be you wish to save your idea for last.

To her surprise, Queen Elsa didn't laugh or anything of the sort. Her face fell a little. "Actually, due to the rushed set of circumstances given to us at the second meeting, creating a system has been...troubling, to say the least."

Rapunzel looked away to the distance now. Being reminded of that was...painful. Most of these presentations had been either repetitive with kingdoms blaming others for taking their ideas to not well thought out. Some even stopped at capturing and had no steps afterwords. The princess was regretting her decision now as it was causing more problems.

"Sorry," the Princess of Corona softly said as her husband had caught up to her.

At it took was once glance, and Eugene knew something was up, but his wife needed time to process things.

Merida, who had enough of the seriousness of the debates and arguments, walked ahead as she said, "I think it's time we stuff our faces before we find our selves fainting from hunger."

While the others wanted to object, the growling of a few stomachs proved the Celtic princess right as some of them held themselves in embarrassment.

As they walked down the halls, a thought came to the princess as she made a wrong turn.

"Rapunzel, where are you going?" Anna asked.

"I'll meet you at the gardens," the Coronian princess replied as she quickened her pace."Let me get someone real quick."

With that, the brunette disappeared into the castle. The others knew she'd be back and walked to the table.

"Who do ye think she's talking about?" Merida asked.

"No clue, maybe the Viking. I mean, it makes sense," Anna replied as her sister shook her head as they walked around to the garden tables.

* * *

Rapunzel swiftly walked through the halls as she searched for her uninvited but now invited guest. Within minutes, she had found hiccup who had left the war room. He had this unpleasant but distant look on his face.

Chief Haddock had been more than happy to accompany Princess Rapunzel when she asked if he could join her for lunch. He had been in the war room, still talking to Sir Justin. While the knight came to ask some questions as well as apologize for past behavior, he had heard the princess pardoned him. Though the chief wasn't so keen on talking to the man.

Though if anyone knew about the culture clash between a knight's dragon-slaying and Berk's dragon utopia, no one would blame him.

The questions were similar to King Arthur's, but without investigating small details. It was still exhausting.

But as they started walking, the princess noticed they were alone and turned to the man with an odd look on her face. The Viking chief didn't think she was attacking, but her face was contorted in inquisition. Like a child who was processing on how to ask a question for the first time.

"So, Hiccup...your father wouldn't by chance be called...Stoic?" she finally asked.

The sound of the prosthetic was absent as the princess saw that her guest had stopped. His face a combination of surprise and caution but clearly asked the question: how did you know?"

"I heard from King Fergus, the large Celtic man from the prison. you know the one who didn't think you were a Viking."

"Oh..." that was all the man said.

He was quiet, too quiet as he held a distant look. His face lost some color, and for a moment, he seemed to shut down.

"Men you kill without reason, can not be reasoned with," Rapunzel repeated. That brought him out of his train of thought.

"The was silence before Hiccup confirmed with a tear in his eye. All he said was "yes," but it conveyed everything. Placing a shoulder on the Viking, Rapunzel replied with how she understood, and would not press further. A sentiment that helped soothe the man.

"Sorry, if that was a bad time to ask, but since we were alone, I just wanted-"

"it's alright," Hiccup interrupted her. "Honestly, it shouldn't be surprising given everyone had been asking about Vikings today."

"Well, after today, I guess you won't have to worry about that or being wrongfully imprisoned."

"Now that...well, Vikings tend to...You know what? Leave it at that. Just Vikings, in general."

The princess nodded with a smile as she resumed guiding her guest. The fast walk over allowed to press on to more pleasing matters, like how hung=ry the man was. Although, the chief soon found himself actually having trouble keeping up.

_How does a girl who doesn't wear shoes run so fast? Her feet have to be killing her._

They had finally made it to the garden, where a beautiful view of flora of many varieties greeted them with a sense of peace. This was halted when they found the others, only to see them staring at the table.

They saw the young King Arthur talking with Duke Archibald. Well, the child ruler didn't speak but rather listen as the older gentleman droned on. The poor boy seemed to be out of it when he saw the coming royals and chief. How an old dignitary managed to exhaust the king, who did the same to Rapunzel, Eugene, and Hiccup, was beyond them. It must have been an unpleasant topic. As Arthur waved hello, the Duke took notice of the company.

"It would appear this conversation will continue at another time. So remember, your Majesty, one must retain a sense of honor and nobility to properly uphold the fine traditions of one's kingdom," the Duke took a bow. "With that, I bid you farewell for now."

Walking past the group, the man now saw the Viking and Celt in the group and shook his head dissentingly.

"Since when does savagery set foot here?" he muttered to himself as he disappeared into the castle.

The group approached the table slowly as the king got up.

"So this is where you went," Queen Elsa spoke up. "I was told you were called away for an important meeting."

"Oh, I was. But I don't think it was that important. The Duke wanted to talk to me about traditions and stuff. Well, it didn't seem important. More like he was telling how to do things."

It was evident in the child's voice how the conversation was uncomfortable. It's not that he didn't like the older man, but there was only so much the young king could take.

That didn't mean some weren't suspicious of the man.

"Such as?" Princess Merida asked with a stern tone.

"Well, he told me about how to make sure a kingdom is in order, but I don't see how any of his advice works," Arthur stretched a bit as he talked. He hadn't moved from his spot for only a few moments, but it seemed the topic was too much as the boy stretched a bit. "all he was able to say before you Came, was how tradition is the structure of society, but I think it only works if they have one in the first place. And I know nothing of London's."

"I think that's how every king is when they're crowned," Merida said. She could relate a bit to the boy. While she was a princess, there apparently would be more lessons after this. Hopefully, her mother would go easy on her.

"Pardon me, but I think I'll take a walk now. I'm so tired of sitting, listening, and talking," young Arthur said as he bid everyone a farewell. Every one parted way as he walked back into the castle with his guards, presumably to find a nice quiet place to be alone.

"Now there's something I would never expect him to say," Hiccup quipped. There were a couple laughs from Eugene and Rapunzel as they agreed. While the others remained silent, not understanding the inside joke.

As they made their way to the table, Rapunzel called for a servant to bring some dishes to the table. Nothing special but simple dishes with some water. Within minutes, five retainers came and placed the players on the table before bidding everyone to enjoy themselves.

"Now, this is nice," Rapunzel commented with a raised glass. "None of these rambling debates. Just people talking to one another. Is there anything better?"

"People not fighting each other?" Anna replied with a raised glass of her own.

"That's all good, but ye got to make sure they don't kill each other," Merida added with her glass.

"Sounds like a Viking problem," Hiccup said as he took a bite.

"Then you must have quite a few problems as Chief," Eugene joked, his smile grew upon noticing he got a laugh.

"You have no idea," Hiccup chuckled.

"It can't be that bad."

"Ever seen how Viking settle disputes? They each grab a bludgeon and debate if they can't find any, then axes."

"And if they can't find any?" Eugene regretted that question the moment it came from his mouth.

"They go down a list of weapons until they've run out. Then we use our words."

Eugene wanted to ask how many weapons there could be. Though while the topic could be

"But if you fight all the time, how do you establish peace and alliances?" Anna asked. Elsa and Merida tried to stop her, but it was too late.

The topic of Vikings was enthralling. Though Merida wasn't much for the discussion.

"We do know how to talk and Chiefs meet, but you better bring a present at the Meeting of Chiefs. Otherwise, you go back without a head."

"You're kidding me," Eugene chuckled at the idea. Then his laughter died down as he saw a small grin telling him it wasn't a joke.

Hiccup just nodded his head as the prince silently asked, "Really?".

"Ye really think Vikings are talkers?" Merida asked with a smirk. "It's more axe your 'eid and take it out. Ain't that right?"

"I won't lie, that's pretty much most Vikings."

Rapunzel grimaced at that bit, as did her cousins and Eugene. Though it was to be expected from a race of warriors. Still.

"Ok, how about something nicer about Vikings," Rapunzel said to change the subject. While she knew some people appreciated a little...violence in their life. It wasn't an appropriate table conversation. Especially during a meal. "What do Viking do in the Summer?"

"Summer?" Hiccup repeated by syllable.

"You know...Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter—"

"Oh! You mean the seasons!"

The princess of Corona nodded.

"We only have two: Winter and Disasterous Winter."

"You have snow all year long?" Elsa asked, with interest, before anyone else. Her sister, Anna, perked up a bit at the subtle display of excitement. "What how is one Winter, and the other is disastrous?"

"Well, we have snow for nine months and hail the other three. I think that's it, really."

"Must be nice," the ice queen spoke with some joy. "snow all year long."

"It can be, but it does make things a little difficult since the only food that will grow is tough and tasteless," Hiccup replied before adding. "Though the people that grow up there are even more so."

That a got a laugh out of the table as the Viking relaxed for a moment.

"So when will you be returning?" Elsa asked with genuine curiosity. At her question, Anna and Merida looked to her funny. To which the ice queen explained, "While I find the topic...interesting. I doubt he will stay for long."

"Tomorrow," Hiccup answered swiftly, to her surprise. The ice queen dropped any neutral expression as the two locked eyes. "If things work out today."

"I do wish you would've at least let us see you off," the brunette princess expressed her concerns.

"You do have everything you need to set sail?" Eugene asked with a fork pointed to the sea.

"Sail?" The chief muttered before speaking louder. "Yes, sail! I have everything I need. With any luck, I'll be back home sooner than expected."

"I thought you said your boat was sunk?" Rapunzel mentioned.

"Right...I...forgot," the Viking answered slowly as he remembered his earlier lie. He was starting to wonder if joining the princess was a good idea. Then again, this was probably the safest place to be for him right now.

"So then...how will you get back home?" Anna asked.

"I think it's safe to say, Rapunzel will give him a boat," Eugene interrupted Hiccup. His wife gave him a smug little smirk before she rolled her eyes. The prince gave her a mirthful smile in return.

Though everyone had an understanding that Rapunzel was too sweet for her own good.

Hiccup thought about the boat. For while it would be a nice gesture, he would be riding back on Toothless. The vessel would most likely be too large for the reptile to carry., so it would be pointless to accept. But turning down such a give would be disrespectful, and draw suspicion, something the man realized he was trying to avoid still.

Though before anyone could get a word in, a guard came in announcing the final half of the debate, or in other words, more presentations. Hiccup, while now know as a chief, could attend since he wasn't formally invited.

"Will you join us for dinner tonight?" Rapunzel asked. "After all, how many Vikings can brag that they had a meal with the royal family of corona and keep his head?"

"Not many. Though I definitely know my friend, Snotlout, would be jealous," Hiccup laughed at the thought of the prideful warrior. "Though he might laugh it off."

"Then it's settled. After the presentations, you'll join us for a proper dinner."

The Viking Chief nodded. Who was he to deny a gracious offer? Then it would be back to Berk, and things would be normal again.

"Or would it?" The chief thought out loud.

"You say something?" Rapunzel asked as she was near the door.

"Oh, nothing. I'll see you tonight," the one-legged man waved. "We'll talk about the alliance there.

The princess nodded and waved back as she followed the others to the meeting room. But standing by a corner, in the blind spot of the guards, Khan watched with grim intent as he smiled thinly.

"Leaving tomorrow, Chief Haddock?"

* * *

**I hope you all have been doing well and have enjoyed this chapter. Things will now be coming to a head as Hiccup is now free to leave, and Khan has plans. I hopefully will get the next out sooner than this, don't want to take so long in updating this. To all of those who read this and continue doing so, thank you from the bottom of my heart. This being one of the least updated stories I have right now, and I appreciate you all taking the time to check this story out. Have a great day.**

**Reviews:**

**Jebest4781: Thank you!**

**GIANTPANDAMAN: Thanks!**

**Mark Andrew(Guest): Hiccup has no trade deals with DunBroch. The kingdom has mainly battled Vikings. He is probably the first one they didn't kill on sight. As for pairings, none right now.**

**OneMoralUniverse: Thanks! **


	12. Toothless

**Disclaimer: I own nothing. Dreamworks owns How to Train Your Dragon. Disney owns Tangled, Frozen, Sword in the Stone, and Brave. Sony Pictures Entertainment and Entertainment One distributed Justin and the Knights of Valor, but Kandor Graphics created it, so they own it.**

**This takes place after Tangled Ever After, How to Train Your Dragon 2, Frozen, Justin and the Knights of Valor, Brave, and The Sword in the Stone.  
**

* * *

The sun shined on the Kingdom of Corona. It was another day for the Grand Kingdom Meeting. Rapunzel, awoken by the beams of the morning light, gently got out of bed, careful not to wake her husband up. She opened her window to enjoy the view of her nation and the peace and quiet. But she was also a little sad.

Pascal, who always had a place near the princess, had been shaken awake by her movement. Crawling up his friend, he noticed she looked to the woods with a sad face.

"Today's the day Hiccup leaves," the brunette spoke distantly. At her words, the chameleon nuzzled against her cheek in an attempt to cheer her up. It did the trick as she gave him a warm smile.

"I know I shouldn't be sad, but after all this time, I felt like I made another friend. And now he's leaving to go home. I wished he could stay, but what would the other kingdoms think of a Viking Chief in the attendance."

She continued to stare at the woods. The Viking had set up camp there. It was where he wanted to spend his last night. Though a little concern with someone sleeping in the woods, the princess relented when Hiccup said he may end up staying for nights if he slept on the mattresses. They were too comfy for him, making the man afraid he'd soften up too much.

Rapunzel giggled at the thought of a soft Viking as she walked to the bed and awoke Eugene.

She had to get ready for everything, plus say goodbye. Hiccup promised that they'd get the chance.

* * *

Hiccup stirred awake against the soft ground. The sun shined on his eyes as he tried to cover his eyes with the pillow. It was only after he grabbed Toothless's wing did he realized that he was not sleeping in the castle or a cell. Looking up, the man saw that he was lying on his dragon friend and remembered the small party they had upon reunion.

The dragon had spied along the edge of the forest at the town, only to leave for food or someone else came. Every time a citizen came, the dragon cooed sadly, as it was not his rider, His family.

While being in the unknown territory could be frightening, Toothless wouldn't leave without Hiccup, not even with the ability to do so. The dragon studied its tail with one artificial fin.

It was something Hiccup made to help the creature fly again after the Viking's own device destroyed the biological original. Shot down, wrapped in bola, and trapped in a cove, the boy at the time could have harmed him, but he didn't.

And that was the beginning of their friendship, which is still going strong.

When the Viking had finally returned, his faithful companion ambushed the man, hopping around him first before jumping on top and licking his face.

"Toothless, stop!" Hiccup shouted as he tried to keep as much dragon tongue off of him as possible. "I'm happy to see you too, bud, but you might want to cut back on the love. I'm drowning in dragon spit!"

To the aggravation of the Chief, his dragon didn't stop for what felt like forever. Even though the reptile had faith in Hiccup's eventual return, that didn't mean nobody was missed.

Toothless had watched as his companion had been hauled off and followed from a distance until the kingdom borders. The dragon knew his limits for now but did sneak a peek at night from afar. Living among humans, he had gained an understanding of routine and managed to stay hidden. Though it didn't mean he had any real luck finding the Viking.

After a while, the dragon snuck back into the woods and waited.

Alone, the reptile relied on his natural instincts and foraged in the woods. Hunting fish and other animals for food. An easy task, given that this part of the world hasn't seen dragons for years. The local wildlife had not developed many defenses against the reptile.

To Toothless, the rivers were like an all-you-can-eat-buffet at times. Though he still liked fish back home better.

But that didn't help with the sadness he felt at the thought of what would happen to Hiccup. The two had been nearly inseparable for five years.

Worry is a powerful emotion.

Especially when you're concerned about a friend's fate in a new land. Toothless would sometimes look to the kingdom, wondering if he needed to search for Hiccup. If the dragon had to wait another day, he would have done so with uncertain results.

But Hiccup was back, just as happy to see him, and everything was going back to a routine.

Toothless had no complaints.

* * *

Rapunzel had managed to gather the friends she could and journeyed into the woods to say goodbye. Though they also came to make sure Corona's princess would be alright, not because of Hiccup but due to her immense enthusiasm.

Plus, they weren't exactly in the mood for another set of presentations. Elsa and Merida, mostly since there were plans that involved them. Mainly in the killing. However, the Queen of Arendelle couldn't back out because she was the ruling monarch of her kingdom, making her obligated to attend, something the princess was not chained to do.

"Come on, Hiccup could leave any moment now," Rapunzel proclaimed as she walked ahead.

Cassandra quickened her pace as she had a hand in front.

"Raps, you might want to give Varian a moment," the handmaiden said, glancing over her friend's shoulder. "I think he may have packed too much."

The princess stopped and turned to Varian, who was sweating. His backpack overflowed with items jutting out.

"I'm fine," the alchemist panted with his excessively large backpack. "I just brought the essentials for the great outdoors. You know you'd be surprised at the properties one could find out here."

"Does an entire set of beakers and vials seem essential?" Cassandra asked with some sarcasm.

As if proving her point, a couple of glass vials had fallen out of the bag. They would've shattered against the ground if Merida hadn't caught them. She stared at the objects in the sunlight.

"Is alchemy anything like magic?" the wild-haired girl asked before handing them back. "Cause you sorta remind me of a witch back home, what with her big cauldron."

The boy gave an offended look as Rapunzel and Cassandra gave each other a small laugh. They remembered making the same comment when meeting the boy for the first time.

"Pardon me, Princess Merida," Varian said, keeping his voice as polite as he could. "But alchemy and magic are two different things."

"Hoo so?"

"Well, for starters, alchemy is a form of science."

The Celtic princess blinked at the answer. She never heard of the term "science" and looked to her new friends. All of whom just gave a sheepish expression.

"It's just his thing," Rapunzel said as she went forward.

"It's not a thing," Varian corrected. "Science is the intellectual and practical activity encompassing the systematic study of the structure and behavior of the physical and natural world through observation and experiment."

Merida blinked for a few moments. "I'm sorry, what?"

"New to the study. Got it," the alchemist concluded. "Well you see, your highness, science is—"

"Guys, while I hate to break up this interesting conversation, we should focus on staying together," the handmaiden once again called out.

Merida decided to leave it at that and went on. Varian shrugged at the girl and made sure everything was in place before moving along.

"We'll finish this later," the Celtic princess said as she and the boy swiftly rejoined their friends.

The gang trailed through the woods, an action that was easy for some and rough for others. Hiking never was a common practice for everyone. The tree leaves swayed in the wind as Rapunzel followed along a stream to where she could find Hiccup.

He mentioned about camping near running water close to the Snugly Duckling, still under renovation from the explosion.

It didn't take long before the group smelled the burning embers of a smoky flame nearby. Hiccup must have been cooking.

"Come on," Rapunzel excitedly exclaimed as she ran ahead. Eugene and Cassandra followed closely. The rest went as fast as they could while wondering how a princess, who never wore shoes, could quickly navigate the outdoors and not hurt her feet.

As the princess came close to the camp, Cassandra looked ahead and noticed something. Sending her owl, named Owl, forward, the bird of prey flew quickly forth for less than a second before coming back and hiding in a tree.

Something spooked him, and that couldn't be good.

"Raps, wait!" Cassandra said as she grabbed her friends and hid behind a tree.

From behind, they had seen the campsite, more specifically the fire with skewered fish nearby, and the napping lump of black scales near it.

"What...is that?" Rapunzel said as she slowly took a few steps further.

"Rapunzel!" Cassandra quietly exclaimed.

But it was too late as the curious princess stepped on a fallen branch. It crunching snap seemingly echoed in the woods.

Toothless woke up as he heard the noise, alerting him to unfamiliar company. His green eyes darted and scanned the surroundings with his ears twitching. It wasn't long before he saw a girl with short brunette hair starting at him.

The winds blew as everyone froze. Rapunzel was in a staring contest with the large black reptile who gazed with a sense of curiosity.

From behind Corona's princess, Cassandra readied her sword.

And the tension rose as Hiccup walked over to the scene.

"Alright, bud. We should have everything ready when we leave later tonight, so—"

The Viking never finished as he noticed the dragon staring. Looking up, the Viking wondered what was going on till he saw he had guests.

Princess Rapunzel was standing a few feet away, staring at him and Toothless. It wasn't long before the others came out of hiding.

There was no sound, save for some stutters from Varian, who dropped his bag. The sound of objects shifting, and possibly breaking, could be heard from his bag.

Everyone was in a stare down, too tense to make any movement.

Rapunzel was the first to break the silence.

"Oh! My! Gosh!" Rapunzel screamed. "He's soo CUTE!"

Thoroughly befuddled by her reaction, Cassandra saw her best friend and princess of Corona run up and jump the dragon, proceeding to give him a plethora of love and attention. Along with belly rubs.

The handmaiden had thought she'd seen it all. Something Eugene pondered in sync.

Hiccup was...well unprepared to even speak; the handmaiden dropped every weapon she held, while Eugene stood there and gave a hearty laugh. The prince was not surprised by his wife's behavior. Toothless, on the other hand, was helpless against the princess' onslaught of adoration. He could fight Dragon Hunters, Vikings, and other dragons, but was powerless against cuddles.

"Wow! And here I thought dragons were some kind of ferocious creature, but I didn't know they were weak against belly rubs," Eugene said in between laughs.

However, mentally the man was just covering his concerns, but he knew not to make sudden movements in situations like these.

Though there was a sliver of doubt in him about Toothless being ferocious right now.

"What's his name!?" Rapunzel asked with her continued display of affection.

"T-T...Toothless," Hiccup stuttered out as he glanced at the other guests.

Everyone choked on laughter for a moment. While they were intimidated by the dragon, it was just too silly with the fact that a man named Hiccup probably arrived in Corona riding on a dragon called Toothless.

"Really?" The brunette princess asked with a smirk. "And just what made you choose that name?"

"Well, you see..." Hiccup started before seeing his best friend walk up to the princess. "Well, I think Toothless wants to tell you."

Rapunzel felt a tug as she saw Toothless grab her dress with his mouth. With her attention on him, the dragon sat up and gave a wide smile with no teeth.

The princess and her friends couldn't help but laugh at the mirthful creature. Even Cassandra smirked.

Merida, while also enjoying the show, didn't move from her spot as she eyed the beast. She had turned her mother into a bear, but dragons were different. They were a more deadly creature due to their flight and firepower.

From the Celtic princess's side, Princess Anna stepped forward as she eyed the black dragon.

"So...can I pet Toothless?" Anna asked with a waving hand, but she didn't wait for an answer.

Arendelle's princess ran up to the scally beast and proceeded to pet him. When the princess realized the dragon meant no harm, she too gave an assault filled with rubs and hugs.

Needless to say, Toothless loved every moment of this. Hiccup had not seen the lizard this happy since his return.

And the audience had similar thoughts. Merida even stepped closer, her sense of fear fading.

"How is it the first thing people want to do is pet the giant fire breathing reptile when nobody has seen one in years?" Hiccup snarked.

"But he's so cute," Rapunzel answered in a baby voice. "How could you not pet him?"

"How is that the normal reaction!? Am I going crazy here!?" Hiccup asked with his hands, gesturing to everyone, mostly Toothless.

"While I can agree with you there, you have to remember Raps, and Princess Anna here aren't your average people," Cassandra added.

Everyone watched as Toothless was assaulted continuously by affectionate gestures. Well, except for Varian.

After coming down from being astounded, the young alchemist quickly and quietly took out some equipment from his carry on. He pulled out a vial and some tweezers and snuck in close.

"Varian, wait! You don't want to do that!" Hiccup cried out.

But the dragon sensed the boy and his intent. Rolling out of the grip of the princesses, Toothless adopted a defensive stance as he eyed the boy with slitted pupils.

The reptile's wings widened as his back arched. His body aimed at the boy.

Varian froze at the reptile's gaze like he was in front of a stampede of horses. The young boy didn't know what to do next.

Cassandra grabbed the hilt of her blade as Merida stepped back a bit, reaching for her bow. Eugene went to Rapunzel, who shared a similar look of concern as Anna wore.

But the Viking had things under control as he walked in between Varian and Toothless.

"Toothless," Hiccup said calmly. He had his hand extended to both of them as he spoke. "Calm down. Varian is a friend."

Toothless lowered his wings. He trusted Hiccup's judgment but walked cautiously to the young alchemist. The inquisitive and scared boy was not sure what to do next. Though he believed the dragon would roast him.

"Give me your hand," Hiccup said as he reached for the alchemist.

With a shaky arm, Varian surrendered his hand, which the Viking held by the wrist as it was placed gently on Tootless's nose.

It wasn't long before the boy opened his eyes to see the malice gone from Toothless. In seconds, the alchemist was studying the dragon up close. His hand started to explore his new friend.

But Toothless decided Varian needed to learn his boundaries, by covering him in licks. With a fast lick of his tongue, he soon pinned the boy down and proceeded to bathe him.

"Hey! Cut it out!" Varian cried as he fought to keep as much tongue off him in futile. "Hiccup! How do I get him to stop!?"

"Well...that's the thing. Toothless stops when he wants, but if you ever find a way to make him stop, then let me know. Thor knows I've been meaning to find a way," Hiccup said with some mirth as everyone enjoyed the sight of the boy being assaulted with saliva.

After a few moments, Varian got up drenched in spit. He walked over to his bag to get as much as he could in vials.

Rapunzel wanted to join in, but Eugene walked up to hold her back, so she could calm down from all the excitement. While her husband understood her season, he did not share the same amount of mirth.

He also didn't want his wife to smell like dragon spit during an important event.

"Rapunzel, honey, while it's not surprising you taking down a dragon with love, don't you think we should ask CHEIF Haddock here about the dragon and where he comes from? Cause I want to know about the 200-pound fire breathing reptile, and I'm sure we all do."

Rapunzel, while she understood the situation perfectly, looked to the now revealed dragon rider. She was still petting the dragon, who had curled up next to her and Princess Anna.

Cassandra, while wary of Toothless, wouldn't let anything deter her from protecting her friends if needed, so she moved closer.

Merida stayed a few steps behind everyone but still went forward.

All eyes were on the Viking chief, who was now revealed to ride a dragon. The tension was mixed with nervous humor as the man in question rubbed the back of his neck while looking at the collective stares.

"Ok, long story short...where do I begin?" Hiccup nervously pondered out loud.

"Can you start at the beginning?" Varian asked.

"Berk," the Chief sighed. "Has had dragons around since my ancestors first settled down. Now, normally you'd leave if you had large, fire breathing reptiles flying around burning things down, but not Vikings. No. We have stubbornness issues. So, we stayed and fought the dragons for almost 400 years till I met Toothless, here, and took down the dragon queen that was making the others raid our home."

Everyone, save for Rapunzel, was stunned.

"Since then, dragons and Vikings have lived together in peace. Where I have worked more than five long years, making it into a dragon utopia. At least till..."

"Somebody had the idea that dragons can do more than being peaceful?" Cassandra came out of her stupor to say.

With grim silence, from both dragons and Viking, the two nodded.

"Yeah...That-that's pretty much what we found out. It started a few years ago with the discovery of dragon hunters. And it wasn't long before we butted heads, so to speak, and nearly ended up dying through multiple encounters."

"Yoo're kidding?" Merida asked, stunned at the news of Vikings on the backs of dragons.

Toothless walked up a few steps. The Celtic princess backed up a bit, not wanting to be near him, despite his cuteness.

"So, you are in charge of not only Vikings but dragons as well," Anna said in amazement.

"Well, yeah. Toothless is the alpha and leads the dragons, except for the babies. They don't really listen to anyone but Bonesnarl," Hiccup said, noticing the questioning faces. "He's another dragon."

"So, Vikings ride dragons now?" Eugene asked.

"And why haven't I heard me father say anything about that?" Merida bluntly asked, wanting answers.

It was then the chief had a stern face as he spoke. "Not all Vikings ride dragons. And some...still hunt them."

Everyone was silent as the last words sunk in. Princess Rapunzel walked over to the dragon. Despite some concern from her friends and husband, but they knew her too well to stop her. She gave Toothless a warm smile.

"So you were protecting your friend," Rapunzel said as she pulled out Pascal from her shoulder. "We all do that."

Hiccup didn't know what to make of the lizard until he saw the interactions between the reptiles.

The chameleon huddled into a ball as it saw the much larger reptile. At first, he did nothing, then he inched closer as the princess gave a hopeful, if somewhat nervous, face, before he gave a grin and leaped on the dragons head and changed color.

"There was nothing wrong with what you did, but some things can't be hidden forever. I told you about my hair, and it only took eighteen years for that to be revealed," Rapunzel added, though it wasn't much in comparison.

Hiccup rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment. He never thought he'd be getting a lecture about secrets. Though the princess had a point, he recalled having done similar to the allies he once called enemies.

"So... what were your plans for leaving?" Cassandra asked. While it seemed a bit rude, everyone could hear the concern in her voice.

"Well, Toothless and I were gonna head out and explore for a bit, after looking at the map that is, and fly back at night," Hiccup said, rubbing his head as he glanced at Toothless. "He has an advantage in the dark."

"I see," Cassandra replied, noting the dragon's pitch black color.

"Listen, I know this is probably not something I should be asking, but for now, can you—"

"Hiccup, you should join us!" Rapunzel exclaimed in interruption.

"What!?" Eugen replied.

"What?" Queen Arianna asked.

"What!?" Hiccup exclaimed.

While everyone was listening and conversing, Princess Rapunzel was in her head, mulling over her thoughts. Her husband gave her a funny glance, knowing of the sometimes adventurous thinking his wife had.

"Rapunzel, honey," Eugene stuttered as he went in front of his wife. "I don't, it's a good idea to have the Chief of a Viking clan, who ride dragons, come and join the Grand Kingdom Meeting. He's more likely to make people want to capture him and raid his home. Even if he is scrawny looking. No offense."

"None taken. I'm with you on this," Hiccup quipped.

"Hiccup. Think about it. My kingdom is hosting an event where we are discussing magic and the various creatures in our world," Rapunzel spoke with a stern but gentle voice with a smile. "You came here on a dragon and found yourself here, right now. That has to mean something."

The princess wasn't going to stop. Not when she made a new friend who knew better about such wonderful creatures. The Princess of Corona looked to Toothless. Within the few moments she has met the dragon, the princess of Corona could see more than a fire breathing reptile with wings. The same could be said for her friends, despite their reservations.

Such wonder shouldn't have to hide from the world.

"Hiccup, you pretty much took another tribe you and your people were fighting and made peace. I mean, how long had Vikings and dragons been at each other until you and-and Toothless?"

"Around 400 years."

"400 years! And you managed to train these amazing creatures like it was nothing!"

Hiccup smiled at the comment. He looked to Toothless, who gave his signature no tooth smile.

"Well...there were a few bumps in the road. First, I had to make a new tail for him, and even then, it wasn't until a few flights Toothless began to trust me. After the fall of the queen, the dragons sorta moved in on their own. And then we had to deal with all the chaos. I mean, I still sometimes see flaming sheep in my—" Hiccup stopped as he realized how he was rambling on about his life again with Rapunzel smiling at him. He blushed as he noticed his audience smirking at him. He looked to Rapunzel. "You know, you have this way of making people talk without torture. How-how do you do that?"

"It's a gift," Rapunzel shrugged. "So about joining us."

And Hiccup's smile dropped faster than dragon dung.

"I know you have your doubts. Your face tells me there more to it, but this is a unique situation. We can help."

But Hiccup still kept his frown.

"Chief Haddock, remember we were talking to my father last night?" Rapunzel asked.

The Viking thought back to last night's dinner, to which he had a formal conversation with the king. Though it didn't start out quite as the princess had wanted.

* * *

The table was set with food as the chief sat with the royal family of Corona. Guards were stationed around the table as servants brought the food and placed it on the table. There were different sets of knives and forks alongside each plate, but the Viking, not familiar with the customs, picked up a random fork to use. It must have been the wrong one as the king and queen eyed the man peculiarly. The start of the meal was a bit awkward since Rapunzel was the one who made friends with the chief and had been the one mainly speaking with him.

"So..." King Fredric started to speak before cutting off with silence.

"So..." Hiccup repeated as he broke eye contact and looked at his plate. The food, appetizing as it is, was untouched.

The men continued to stare at each other in awkward silence.

Rapunzel looked to Euegene for any support. The prince looked at the situation and wondered what he should do. His wife's puzzled look wasn't helping for, though she would have taken charge, the princess had done much of the speaking.

Queen Arianna was thinking the same as she elbowed her husband.

"So-so-so, Chief...Haddock...you've arrived."

The queen mentally slapped herself in the head at her husband's words.

"Well...yes. I suppose," Hiccup stuttered out. "I-I mean, it would be rude to turn down the invitation."

"True," Fredric said with an inquisitive look. "It would be, but I do believe I may have been the rude one locking you up with only circumstantial evidence."

"You wouldn't be the first," the chief replied with a smirk. "Any Viking would have done the same, especially an enemy clan."

The king nodded, though he didn't want to be compared to other Vikings.

"So, I am assuming there's still fighting in your lands," King Fredric spoke sternly but had some empathy to his voice.

"If you're asking if Vikings fight each to this very day, then I am sorry to inform you that we are at war," Hiccup said, making everyone drop what they were doing.

They stared at the chief in shock and concern. It was never a good time to be missing during wartimes. And they assumed a war in the lands up north could be worse. Mostly if the history books were to be believed of Viking culture.

"Hiccup," Rapunzel asked with a worrisome look. "Whoever you're fighting, do you have to do it alone?"

The Viking mulled that over in his mind.

"As grateful as I am to hear that, I can't in good heart create an alliance when my people are fighting a ruthless enemy," Hiccup replied with a somewhat sad tone.

"But Hiccup—"

"We are allies, I will say that. But, whos to say that my enemies won't attack them? I can't bring everyone I know into this."

This left the princess in a stunned state.

"This man had already attacked those with closest ties to Berk. Another ally is one more target to him. Besides," At his last words, Hiccup smiled. "Our enemies may be crazy, but my clan and our allies are even more so and we have all survived what they have brought so far."

Rapunzel smiled as she understood who was behind him, but was still troubled. The princess cared a lot, sometimes too much. She didn't want her new friend to face these troubles alone.

Alright," the princess said, conceding to letting Hiccup be. "But promise, you'll visit when things have calmed down. An alliance between our kingdoms could be very beneficial."

"Especially with what can grow up north and here. I take it you've seen some items you won't find back home," Queen Arianna spoke up. Happy things were going smoothly now.

"I...can't lie. Yes, it would be nice to have access to such herbs and plants," Hiccup nodded, taking a bite of his food.

"Then we should be allies," Rapunzel said with a smile.

Her father glanced at the Chief with an unsure face but relented with a nod as he put down his knife and fork.

"So be it, at some point," the king said, to the joy of his wife and daughter, before he spoke in a stern voice. "We will write up a treaty, but if what you're saying is true about war, then we must discuss this with more detail as to the flags and colors of your enemies."

Hiccup smiled, thankful to find a friend in unknown waters.

The king and Chief raised glasses in agreement, and the dinner went smoothly from there.

* * *

"Hiccup, we agreed to an alliance. I know you talk about not including more people into war. To be honest, I don't want to be part of one either. But if we are to be allies, eventually, you'll have to tell my father about the dragons. That is a fact," Rapunzel said softly with understanding. "Especially if your enemies use them."

That was undeniable, and had the chief contemplating how to break such news without causing incident.

"Not to mention we have a few fake Viking hanging around," Cassandra snarked. "I take it that means something down the road?"

Anna and Merida stared at the handmaiden at her words. This was the first they heard of fake Vikings. The Celtic princess gripped Anna's hand, noticing her worry, and the other red-haired princess nodded in thanks. Varian as well stopped his business as he glanced at his friend.

"Wait, those guys we saw the other day? They were fake Vikings?" Varian asked.

Rapunzel glanced at Cassandra with a soft stern face, and her friend realized her mistake. The handmaiden sent an apologetic look as she didn't mean to reveal that."

"It's something Hiccup, and I saw in Corona with Varian the other day," Cassandra spoke calmly. "King Fredric has been notified, but there is nothing found yet. Just strange men right now."

"But you're right. It does mean something," Hiccup added in concern as Toothless walked up under his arm and cooed. "And Toothless and I will look into it before we head back, I can assure you. As your ally."

The Viking gave the dragon an affectionate scratch under the chin. As he did so, Princess Anna walked up, gathering all her courage, and petted the dragon as she looked the chief in the eyes.

"So, if you're going to be allied with Corona, would that mean you're open to alliances with other kingdoms? Cause I'd like to see more dragons," Anna said with a soft tone. "and my sister would definitely advocate for better treatment of anything magical. Including your dragons."

Hiccup glanced at the red-haired princess as he remembered her sister, who had a habit of conjuring snow and throwing it at the Viking. Not to mention the one time she filled his cell with it. He honestly wasn't sure what to make of the snow queen, or of Anna's words right now.

"Think it over," Rapunzel's voice broke the Viking out of his thought. He noticed the warm smile on her face.

And Corona's princess wasn't the only one. Everyone had a smile, even Merida. Though the Celtic princess had some choice words for Hiccup.

"Jist so ye ken, mah dad will want a wuid wi' ye once he hears yoo have dragons," Merida said with a smirk.

Those words got Hiccup's attention, and he groaned audibly, to the mirth of everyone.

"Don't worry, we'll help you out," Rapunzel said, calming down from her giggling fit. "But, your appearance has gotten the attention of some people. I'm not saying everyone will head into Viking territory, but it does mean somethings might change." The princess then pondered out loud, " We should probably be prepared in case invaders come from the north as well."

The Viking spoke not a word as he thought over the princess's words. She was right, things were changing, and he was in an opportune moment.

Glancing at Toothless, Hiccup saw the dragon eying everyone with curiousness. He didn't once break eye contact with anyone and held a cautious face, but had no malice or worry.

"So, I'll think it over?" Hiccup asked.

"Take you time," Rapunzel replied with a smile.

The princess's group enjoyed the limited time they had left before they remembered to get back to the castle. Disappearing royals was never a good thing, especially after a tense meeting, or boring in this case.

* * *

The evening soon fell upon the kingdom as Rapunzel glanced from her window. The sun was slowly setting, and the princess was waiting for an answer.

She wasn't sure how, but the girl believed that if she didn't see a silhouette in the sky, then it meant Hiccup would join. Other than that, it would be assumed he headed home.

"Well, today was full of surprises," Eugene commented. "Who would've of thought that—" he stopped. To glance at the door before whispering, "—dragons were still around."

Rapunzel didn't move from her spot at the window, but she glanced back to her husband.

"I mean, think about it," her husband spoke in a calm voice. "I thought they were either dead, rare, or just made up. How many people do you think actually saw them?"

"I know. And that's what worries me. Be it this generation or another, once dragons are discovered to be alive...well, it changes everything for them," Rapunzel said as she turned to Eugene. "And I doubt most people will want to study them. Much less befriend them. But—"

Eugene wrapped his arms around the princess. He knew what she meant, but it was difficult to swallow. People couldn't just rediscover the existence of dragons and not freak out, let alone lay down arms.

To be honest, the ex-thief would think something was wrong with anyone who did.

"Come on, Hiccup said he'd stay one more night to think over your proposition."

Eugene walked over to the bed as he lifted the covers.

"Let's get some rest, and tomorrow we'll be able to handle whatever comes at us."

Rapunzel glanced out the window one last time before heading to bed. There was nothing else to do but wait for an answer.

Lying down, the royal couple drifted to sleep slowly. Things were changing.

The silent night was alight with the flickering of lamps and torches as the guards made their patrols. All was quiet as they checked in with one another. It seemed like a peaceful night until...

_Boom!_

An explosion echoed in the night, waking up resident and nobility alike. At first, there was dead silence, no one screamed, but everyone rushed out their windows to see guards running to the source, the castle gate. From the shadows found in town, warriors emerged wielding axes and blades, charging in with loud, boisterous screams.

"We're under attack!" yelled a random citizen as everyone boarded themselves in.

Guards came with armor, weapons, and shield as they fought back the invaders.

Rapunzel and Eugene jumped out of bed and flung open the window, where they saw the carnage unfold. It was chaos as citizens boarded themselves up or ran away as fast as they could.

"What's going on!?" was all the princess could say as she noticed ships docking on the pier.

All of them had a dragon sewn on their sails, and the men wore horned helmets.

They were Vikings.

* * *

**Finally updated this and boy am I happy to. Toothless finally appeared and met some new friends, but now things have turned ugly. How will things turn out?**

**While my last promise to update this within a month wasn't fulfilled, I'll get the next chapter done as I can.**

**Thank you all for reading and have a good day.**

**Special Thanks! to one of my best friends for all his help!**

**Special Thanks! To Starlord Master for eleven consecutive reviews!**

**Reviews:**

**Jebest4781: Thanks!**

**Equalized Enigma: Strange yes.**

**hateme101: Here he is now.**


	13. Corona Under Attack

**Disclaimer: I own nothing. Dreamworks owns How to Train Your Dragon. Disney owns Tangled, Frozen, Sword in the Stone, and Brave. Sony Pictures Entertainment and Entertainment One distributed Justin and the Knights of Valor, but Kandor Graphics created it, so they own it.**

**This takes place after Tangled Ever After, How to Train Your Dragon 2, Frozen, Justin, the Knights of Valor, Brave, and The Sword in the Stone.**

* * *

Rapunzel and Eugene were shocked at the battle that was ensuring outside the destroyed castle gates.

The princess noted the ships coming in, bringing more men to the piers and how they bore the same dragon symbol Hiccup had described. But any thoughts she had on the matter were interrupted by an armored Cassandra opening the door.

"Rapunzel! Eugene!" Cassandra cried out with worrisome eyes. "Follow me! The other guards are escorting the king, queen, and the others!"

Down the stairs and through the hallway, Rapunzel could hear the cries of a battle raging on as steel clashed with steel. Whoever was yelling, she couldn't tell but wished her men luck.

The next hours were crucial in a battle like this.

Making her way to the throne, maids and staff scuttled supplies as they navigated war zone bent on finding safety while performing their duties. The visiting nobles screamed and panicked as they raced like bugs. It was a nightmare they never wanted in the first place—one taking place in reality.

Inside the throne room, everyone, from visitors to the staff, was clamoring and shouting over each other about the situation. The king was barely able to draw any attention, let alone shout or get a word in.

The princess cut through the crowd with some effort as she reached the end—courtesy of some help from Cassandra separating the people in her path.

"Dad! What's going on?" Rapunzel asked.

"Are you blind!?" yelled another dignitary, the Duke of Weselton. "It's an attack!"

"I mean, who is attacking," the princess rectified her previous statement, giving the older man a stern glare. But the rumbling of walls being smashed into cut the moment. "We have to do something."

"We?" the elderly diplomat said in defiance. "Since when? We have our men for that! As do you have your army."

Despite protests from the brunette princess, King Fredric insisted that Rapunzel stay within the throne room's safety. The princess argued against such an act, as she couldn't stand around and let things be.

"Dad, we can't do nothing," Rapunzel said in earnest.

"Are you daff?! There are armed men out there!" The Duke argued but was ignored for more pressing matters.

"Rapunzel, the Duke of Weselton is right," King Fredric said. The short dignitary stood up straight as he gave a mirthful smirk to the princess.

"But Elsa and Anna are out there along with our friends, allies, and various diplomats," Rapunzel sternly replied, pointing at the door. "We can't abandon them."

"And we won't, but going out and rushing headfirst is a terrible idea—"

"Which is why we need to assess the situation now while we have a chance! Any word from the generals and guards?"

King Fredric was pleasantly taken back at how his daughter was handling the fight. The same was said for some of the visitors who had been baffled and disinterested with the princess's initial behavior.

"This is the moment where we need to prove to not only everyone here, but to our invaders—"

"—Viking," interjected a random noble. "I saw the signal they wore. those are—"

"—Ignoring the non-important details," the princess interrupted the man, not wanting to pin this on Vikings, especially since she had some doubts due to meeting Hiccup. Though that could have been some culture clash. "we need to drive the invaders back for us, and the people hear."

"Relax, we have an army here, not to mention the guards that came with our guests, and the Celtic- where is the King of DunBroch?" King Fredric asked, noticing the enormous man missing.

"He left to join the fight," Queen Elinor, who stayed behind, explained as she grabbed a bow and arrow. "And I suggest we prepare, best the enemy comes here."

"But your husband—"

The Celtic king could be heard howling in the halls as the clashing of steel and iron echoed. Laughter and battle cries accompanied a path down the stairs as the torchlight danced in the darkness.

"Never mind," Fredric replied with a deadpan. Happy that the man was on their side, though some men in the room thought the wild fighter to be looking for a good fight. No one really cared at the moment.

"Alright, I want guards in front with shields up and another exiting the door," Rapunzel commmend3ed as the soldiers got into position. "We can't wait for anyone to appear. For now, will use what we can to fight back and thin the lines!"

People were scared, the armed men included, but a voice rang loudly in the darkness.

"You heard the princess!" Cassandra cries out with sword in hand. "Remember, this is a castle, not an open field! They can't overwhelm us!"

Despite it all, Rapunzel smiled at that.

"Thank you," the princess said to her best friend, who promptly handed her a frying pan.

"You're going to need this," Cassandra said with a smile.

The king placed a hand on his daughter, attempting to speak his mind, but his daughter knew where that conversation was heading and held his hand for a moment. The lady gave him a warm smile.

"Dad, it's alright," Rapunzel took her father's hand off her. "I won't be alone. Eugene and Cass will be with me, and I can not stand by and do nothing as our men fight for our lives."

But King Fredric wasn't convinced and held onto his daughter again with a tighter grip.

"I'll be fine. I won't go headfirst into a fight," the princess gazed into her father's eyes. "I promise I'll come back."

Hesitant, the king slowly relinquished his grasp ad watched as his only child walked out the doors with her husband, handmaiden, and a few guards. He prayed for her safety.

"Please be careful," the father said quietly.

Rapunzel's group soon saw the fight in the next hallway, witnessing the Celtic warriors hold off the attackers. While fewer in numbers, the men made up for it in spirit. King Ferguson could be seen in his field of expertise as he seemed to have the upper hand.

The guards were swift and deadly as their swords met several blades as they went in to assist. Though the number of attackers didn't seem to matter with the Celtic king and his peg leg, he moved between the Vikings like children.

"Is that all you got? Ye wee baby galoots!? I've had haggis with mor bite than you lot."

"King Fergus!" Rapunzel yelled.

The king greeted the princess with a wave of his hand, gleeful at the accompaniment of friends. It made the fight merrier as his men did the same.

As one of the invaders saw this pause in the Celtic king and came from behind, Merida, who had been with her father this whole time, would not stand by and do nothing. With her trusty bow, she shot an arrow into the man's helmet. A ding could be heard as the iron head collided with the metal headpiece. The man laughed at the ineffective attempt at his life, but the princess sent him a smirk.

Angered at the act, the man stormed over, but Merida pointed behind the man, who was now noticing the Celtic King staring at him. Having been alerted by the arrow, the king raised an arm as he smacked the man across the room.

"Ye think you can harm mae bonnie daughter!?" Fergus exclaimed.

The man was so frightened, he placed his weapon down in an attempt to surrender.

The father and daughter looked at each other with a sly grin and laughed before hitting the scared man on the head.

"Well done, Merida," The king said with his burly arm around his daughter's shoulder. With smiles, the two returned to the battle as Rapunzel, and her group followed.

* * *

Everyone outside the safety of the throne room was doing their best to stay safe. Some had better luck than others. Especially if they had magic on their side. As for those against the side of such elements in a fight, one could say someone should pray for them.

A wave of men charged at Anna, expecting rewards for her capture or execution, but a wall of ice had encased a few of the warriors. They looked to see Queen Elsa walk slowly into view. Her face was neutral. Her powers spoke of anger and rage.

"If you think you can harm my sister-" A wall of ice is summoned as it pushed the remaining back. "-I'll have to show you why I'm called the Ice Queen."

The 'Vikings' looked to each other before they wore grins, not intimidated by the queen's threat. They charged forward with axes and blades in the air and numbers on their side. The math was in their favor.

Too bad it was a thoughtless calculation as within seconds, Else froze the ground beneath their feet. With slippery floors, the barbarians slid past the queen and her sister and through a window. With a loud crash, they exited the castle, armor and all.

Princess Anna giggled at the predicament and walked over to her sister as she gasped.

"Elsa, watch out!"

The queen turned to see one warrior who hadn't been expelled from the ice. He was already a few steps away.

Else, out of reflex, summoned a wall of ice as the man's axe came down, lodging it in the shield. The angry man tried to pull the weapon out of the ice to no avail. It must have been special to him or something because he looked sorrowful as if he was about to cry.

The sisters didn't know whether to pity the man or not. They were fighting for their lives, so Elsa readied a blast of ice only for her sister to stop her.

"Hey there," Anna said gently as she walked over. The ax-less man looked at the princess with teary eyes but quickly buried his sadness with rage as he screamed with arms in the air.

Anna was no fool, having survived putting trust in strange men before, and produced a frying pan. The girl swung the kitchen appliance at the man's head with both arms and disoriented him before punching him in the nose.

Elsa stared at her sister in surprise before she walked over.

"Pretty neat, huh? Rapunzel showed me these things can do a lot more than cook," Anna said, twirling the metalware.

But the queen said nothing. Her younger sister seemed tense until a smile was seen, and the two hugged.

"I'm glad you can take care of yourself, but I need you to not make such rash decisions right now," Elsa said before summoning a wall of ice to block off a hallway as the sound of Vikings could be heard coming. "I suggest we move somewhere safer."

"Agreed," Princess said as she nervously gripped the frying pan.

The two ran down the halls avoiding anything that sounded like invaders to fighting.

* * *

Inside the war room, King Arthur is besieged by a group of invaders. Sir Kay is ready with a blade in hand as he holds off the attackers by his side. While the knight is managing fine right now, he eagerly waits for reinforcements to arrive.

Holding his sword closely, the young king wishes he could join the battle. But he had barely enough experience to partake. He felt useless, a most hated feeling for the boy.

And while Sir Kay was strong, he could not handle an entire group on his own, evident by his accumulated wounds. For a moment, the Knight managed to push back the invaders enough to tend to a wound, kneeling down.

The invaders smirked at the man as they eyed the boy king.

"Brother!" young Arthur cried out, seeing the knight kneel at his wound momentarily.

While the cut wasn't deep, it was the shame that such a pitiful attack made it past his armor that hurt the most. Gripping his sword. Sir Kay readied himself for more barbarians.

The young king drew his sword as he walked to the frontlines, but a hand from the knight stopped him.

"Stand back, my king. It is too dangerous. Besides," Kay said as he spat out some blood. "I can handle this."

King Arthur did not argue, knowing he could get in the way, as he watched the knight continue fighting.

Honorable as Kay was, the man is alone against a group. He was sure this would be his last stand.

From the door, Sir Justin and Talia had rushed in, catching the Vikings from behind and off guard. Two fell as blades went through their backs. When they tried to retaliate, Sir Kay made a swing, knocking one off while another had his guard up.

"Sir Kay! Is everything alright?!" Sir Justin said over the clashing of steel. Though a knight, the boy wasn't as armored as the older man and had to avoid some attacks.

"Justin, I think him being against a horde of thugs says he isn't," Talia said with her shield up. She regretted not wearing as much armor as her boyfriend but held her ground just the same.

They quickly managed to lessen the group of enemies by a few, but the group was catching on as the invaders huddled their backs together to have a guard all around.

This gave Justin and Talia room to head over to the night and young king.

"Are you alright, now?" Sir Justin asked with his hand extended.

Sir Kay said nothing as he grabbed Sir Justin's hand. The smaller Knight helped him up.

"Let's have the strength to fight to our last breath," Sir Justin remarked with an armed hand. "But let this not be our final battle."

The trio readied themselves as the Vikings attacked. Or so the fight would have resumed, had Arthur not turned over the table in the room.

"Kay! Sir Justin! Talia!" The young king cried out as the warrior caught on. They went behind the table and pushed.

With their speed, they managed to catch the attackers before they grounded themselves. With all their strength, the four had managed to not only push the men out of the room but through a window on the other side.

Safe for a moment, the four collected their breath, laying beside the table.

"Thank you," Sir Kay said to Justin and Talia.

"It's a knight's sworn duty to protect. Think nothing of it," Sir Justin replied.

From the hallways, a cry is heard as Sir Bart makes his way to their position, clearing out any invaders with the guards that followed.

"Your Majesty! Sir Kay! Are you two alright?!" Sir Bart asked as he noticed the grouped winded state.

"Sir Bart, we are fine, but Kay has been injured. We were saved by Sir Justin and Talia," Arthur said as he helped Kay up.

* * *

Rapunzel leads her group against the invaders. The Coronian princess was actually doing a good job of holding most of the enemies at bay. She and her group kept trying to get them into the courtyard to minimize damage to the castle.

King Ferguson charged ahead with a loud yell as some of his had left to aid others. With his men and the princess's, they soon managed to ensure most of the remaining forces were outside.

Stepping out, Rapunzel noticed how there were still some Vikings coming in. She saw them B-lining to the gates from the port, noticing her citizens in their boarded-up homes, safe from harm.

"Hold your position," the princess shouted as the Celtic King yelled a loud battle cry, accompanied by his remaining men.

The battle continued as men from the castle clashed with the invaders from the gates. Swords swung in the air with axes with few bodies hitting the floor.

The Coronians, Celts, and others fought bravely as they pushed back to the middle of the courtyard.

Rapunzel frowned. The forces were now even, and that was the problem. The guards had the Vikings held back but could not push them further.

It was too even.

No winner in sight. She did not like this. Her forces need one final push. Something to ensure the invaders backed away as they drove them out. But more invaders came.

_There has got to be some way._ She thought.

Just then, a loud screech was heard as the guards surveyed for potential enemy attacks. The guards held their shields up, but the Vikings only dropped their faces, and for some, their weapons, and paled.

"Night Fury!"

"Everyone get down!"

Most of the invading forces immediately ducked down as Rapunzel watched a figure diving in the sky blasted a catapult before rising into the clouds.

In response, some men aimed their weapons into the sky, only for others to grab them and hit them. Rapunzel could see the invading "Vikings" scolding each other. And though she was a safe distance away, could hear their words.

"Remember the plan. We can't let this guy make friends with anybody."

Rapunzel felt she should have been surprised but recalled the term "fake Vikings" from earlier. It was clear how much effort the warriors were making with their aesthetics, and it beefed the question of who they truly were. All she knew was the recollection of the fakes reported earlier.

That mattered not, for right now, there was a battle for their lives. And the princess couldn't help but smile at the skies.

"I gotta admit, they sure know how to make an entrance," the princess commented as Eugene and Cassandra nodded. The rest were scared and confused at the presence of a man riding a dragon.

"I wonder what they'll do next," Eugene pondered as he knocked out another Viking. Cassandra just went back to fighting. This was no time to be distracted.

Flying down, Toothless landed gracefully as the dragon roared loudly with a blue glow. His open mouth glowed brighter before firing a plasma fire blast at the attackers, killing the ones in direct path while knocking back others.

It was a simple display of power, yet had some majesty to it from the defending forces' perspective. Such color of flame had never been seen. The handmaiden watched as she noticed the scarred grounds where the blast landed. Staring at it with a wow. Some guards did the same when they were not defending themselves.

The combined forces of the Grand Kingdom Meeting were happy to not be flame-broiled for the moment.

The princess saw the Chief in his armor, his face covered with a hornless helmet as Toothless roared at the enemy's army.

The guards didn't know what to make of the man, with their spears pointed at both intruders. However, the sight of their princess walking over with a smile diminished some fear. Even her father was confused.

"You stayed?" Rapunzel said, glancing at the armor Hiccup now adorned.

"Well, I couldn't just leave my allies to defend themselves under attack," the chief said, but he couldn't hide the true meaning.

The guards became wide-eyed as they heard that. In all their years working in the castle, never had such an event occurred. But they broke out of their stupor, remembering the invaders gawking at the sight.

Nothing was more terrifying than Toothless right now. And the defending guards and warriors were grateful for his presence. They charged at the enemy with renewed vigor as their princess climbed onto the reptile.

"What are you doing?" Hiccup asked with incredible disbelief.

"Getting a ride," Rapunzel answered, noticing the chief's face. "What? It'll help morale and keep the other guards from attacking onsight."

"Or make them think you're being kidnapped."

Toothless laughed in deadpan agreement as he turned to the new rider. He was not looking forward to finding out which reaction the guards will choose, but he knew now was the time for fighting. The dragon charged forward into battle with a plasma blast, giving a roar that echoed through the halls.

Where it soon reached the ears of certain guests.

"what was that?" said the Queen of Insvagarr as she threw some of the men out a window.

"Took him long enough," Khan, who was near the queen, murmured to himself.

The guards charged forward, their voices crying out in glorious confidence. Victory is near. They can see it as the invaders brace themselves, hoping to come out on top.

The air is electric as the clanging of sword, spears, and shields is heard louder. The courtyard becomes littered with bodies and weapons as warriors fall.

It was a complete mess of yells and fighting that went on and on.

However, Toothless decided to break the balance. The night fury quickly soared and used more firepower on the invaders, with Rapunzel holding on tightly. Though she was in battle, the princess enjoyed the feeling of being in the air.

"That's it, Toothless!" Hiccup said proudly.

Rapunzel smiled since this tipped things in their favor as she saw her kingdom's invaders beginning to flee.

Yells are heard for a retreat. Men scrambled with armor and weapons as they made way to the ships.

Rapunzel cheered with her people as they watched the Viking forces leave the castle grounds. Catching up with her, the Celts, Arrendellians, and other allies came to ensure all invaders were gone. Men held their weapons in the air as a sign of victory as they laughed and screamed in joy.

But not everyone felt safe as they noticed the rider and his mount. Merida and Anna found each other as they both thought grimly of what would come next.

"Dragon!" came a cry as Hiccup now saw he was on a grounded Toothless with guardsmen pointing their weapons at him now.

Toothless became wide-eyed and crouched in defenses, turning to face the would-be attackers and stunning them with a glare. His rider did the same as he brought a shield out in front. Whatever happened next was up to the gods.

The guards nervously stood their ground as the spectators looked in awe. Cassandra stanced herself for any movement while Sir Justin and Talia had their weapons at hand. The knight gave the rider a glance as he studied his mount. He was the most surprised out of anyone in the crowd.

Anna and Merida tried to mediate but Else held them back as her sister explained everything. Needless to say, the ice queen was shocked in hearing how her sibling knew of the reptile, though not so much at petting the beast.

Fergus just stared with his wife, Elinor; his face was stern.

Soon, the visiting royalty came to the courtyard as they heard more screaming. The courtyard was now flooded with all eyes on the dragon rider.

"What do you think you're doing!" yelled one of the dignitaries. "Arrest that man, and capture the dragon!"

The guards gave a mixed response with groups either too frightened to attack, grateful for the rider's assistance, and unsure what to say, really. But another round of yelling convinced most armed men to charge the two. They marched forward quickly in an attempt to surround the chief and dragon.

Hiccup patted his best friend, indicating things could get ugly if they didn't leave, but the sight of a girl with short brunette hair walking in front of them.

"Everyone, stop!" Rapunzel cried out as she came between the dragon rider and soldiers. Immediately, the men lowered their arms, not wanting to harm the princess. Some groaned to themselves as they should have seen this coming, the princess protecting someone new.

She could be very friendly for her own good sometimes.

"Rapunzel!" her father shouted sternly. He was not pleased with this predicament. "What are you doing!? This man-"

"Came to our aid and helped against the invaders! He is a friend."

"What?" King Frederick spoke sternly as he eyed the rider.

Everyone else was just as surprised. Murmurs and whispers were wondering who Hiccup was while others glared at Toothless. The Viking and dragon were wondering if they should fly away.

The people were grateful, yes, but would not blindly trust a man on a dragon who just so happened to swoop in and help during an invasion.

"But...but the dragon?!" yelled a dignitary as others follow suit.

Hiccup and Rapunzel tried to reason with the crowd, assuring Toothless would not harm them for no reason.

The kings and dignitaries still looked unsure. Still, Rapunzel vouched for him.

"Dad, please..." The princess pleaded.

King Fredric was silent as he looked at his daughter and then at the rider. Then to the crowd, who were still divided on what to do. Gathering his strength, the king spoke with authority.

"State your name."

For a moment, Hiccup was hesitant; his helmet gave him some anonymity, but to show his face so soon could cause political troubles. He would have flown away at first notice had the princess not walked closer.

"It's alright," she said. And though this would change everything, the chief decided to take a chance. Removing his helmet, King Fredric gasped as he saw the face of his newest ally.

"My name is Chief Haddock! Leader of the Hairy Hooligan Clan of Berk."

Once again, most of the crowd yells at the sight of a Viking rising a dragon. They call for guards to surround the man and kill the dragon. Others say to keep the reptile alive as a show of power. A select few look to their host for answers.

"Well, what are you going to do?" the Duke of Westlton asked.

Immediately, Corona's royalty was in the spotlight. This was their kingdom, and thus the responsibility fell on them for what course of action to be taken.

The king walked past the armed men, stopping a few feet in front of the Viking and his dragon. He gazes at the reptile, who looks back with wary eyes. The crowned man is afraid but ignores the feeling as he focuses on his new ally. A sting of betrayal is felt as Fredric wishes he knew of the beasts, but it was a small wound. And there never was an alliance made with all secrets placed in view. Every politician had secrets to keep.

The eyes of the Viking hold some of the same sentiment. This was not how things were supposed to go.

"Chief haddock," King Fredric spoke with his most authoritative tone. "It has come to our attention of the beasts you have tamed in your homelands and as a man who is to form an alliance-" that drew a lot of attention, good or bad no one could tell. "—I extend an invitation for you to join in the Grand Kingdom Meeting as a representative of Berk, and the Vikings."

The crowd clamored with anger, sleep deprivation, and anxiety. A man who arrived and helped them on the back of a dragon was a creature long thought to be extinct. There were visiting dignitaries and diplomats who weren't happy with the King of Corona's choice of words.

"You can't do that," cried the Duke of Westleton, pushing to the front of the crowd. "This man is a barbarian! Who's to say he didn't conspire with the invaders? They were Vikings as well!"

The yelling became murmurs as the crowd spoke in agreement. Well, most of them. Eugene, Anna, Merida, Cassandra, and any friends made were in agreement. Even if things did develop at an alarming rate.

"Sure, we can do that," Rapunzel said with a smirk. "But let me ask you something. Chief Haddock here is the leader of Vikings who ride dragons. What do you think will happen if they arrive and see that we didn't give the chief leader a warm reception?"

The duke backed down, as did a few soldiers. Obviously, this man and his dragon could become a great threat with aerial warfare, a tactic none of the kingdoms had in development. Starting conflict with the tribe could spell disaster for anyone dumb enough to strike first.

The chief watched with caution, and some relief, as Princess Rapunzel stood in between him and the crowd.

"I'm going to say I don't have much of a choice in the matter, right?" Hiccup dry said.

"I'm afraid not," the princess replied with a nervous grin.

Contemplating his predicament, the Viking chief sheathed Inferno as he walked forward towards King Fredric, accepting the invitation as a rep[resentative of his people. He asked for the condition that he send a messenger dragon back to not let things escalate out of control. Knowing his people, they would look for him. It was a miracle no other Vikings had arrived. While not sure how others would react, the king accepted the compromise as he orders his men to stand down and asked the others to do the same.

It was for the sake of peace. No one would let him go without

The chief and royal family of Corona were contemplating their next step as they walked silently inside.

As they walked, King Fergus eyed the chief with a new sense of caution. While he wasn't sure about Hiccup being a Viking, it didn't change the situation's facts. There was a dragon in the courtyard. Studying the crowd, the Celtic king and queen could feel eyes falling on them from scared dignitaries and noblemen. It was known how Vikings and Highlanders were still fighting and would probably ask him for protection. Some of them even eyed Merida, who walked closer to her mother for support.

The large king moved his vision to Toothless, who eyed the crowd cautiously while walking behind. The beast's wings were out defensively. For a moment, King Fergus and the reptile locked eyes and stared for a second.

As the doors closed, the large king took a deep breath as he felt his wife's soft hand holding his. Her smile warms his heart as he is reminded of the victory today and retires to bed with her.

Tomorrow is another day. They would handle things then.

* * *

**It seems things are not over yet**, **considering a dragon rider has now appeared, and the Grand Kingdom Meeting is not over.**

**Special Thanks! to Flower Princess11 for all her help!**

**Review:**

**Jebest4781: Thanks!**

**Starlord Master: Thanks!**

**Francis Burke(Guest): Nice! Wish I could see.**

**Guest: Glad you enjoyed it.**

**DeredereWrites: Glad you enjoy this. Thanks!**


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